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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24042535">Missing Moments</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicagogirl2/pseuds/chicagogirl2'>chicagogirl2</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chicago PD (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:15:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>134,472</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24042535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicagogirl2/pseuds/chicagogirl2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All things Upstead throughout Season 7, both what actually happened in the show and what I wish happened! Enjoy</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jay Halstead &amp; Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>306</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Brennan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I’m back did you miss me? The new season inspired me to write this week. I can’t promise I will update as regularly as I have been, as grad school is pretty much consuming my life. But using writing as a stress reliever/outlet is always good. Hope you enjoy my spin on the first episode this week, can’t wait for the writer’s to explore Upstead some more- I’m all for the angsty slow burn this season! Time to dive in to my second (can’t believe it) story! Enjoy</p>
<p>Chapter 1<br/>
Hailey got the call about Kelton and rushed to the scene as fast as she could. She walked in to find Jay talking with the acting Superintendent, filling him in on what they knew so far. Hailey was told to talk with Kelton’s driver, she hadn’t seen Jay until now. After their talk in the break room earlier that day, she had gone home to clear her head. The look on his face, the words that he couldn’t say, that she couldn’t say, haunted her thoughts. That was until she heard about the Mayor being murdered, then she had to put that on the back burner and switch gears.</p>
<p>Kevin and Kim were inside as well, collecting evidence, talking with other police. This was going to be a mess on many levels. The media helicopters were already circling, there was going to be a lot of eyes on this. Hailey didn’t like what she saw as she walked in, namely who wasn’t there. But once she saw Jay, her nerves calmed a bit. As soon as they had a minute alone, Hailey questioned him about Voight.</p>
<p>“He’s on his way?” She asked quietly.</p>
<p>“Not sure, I was just covering”, he responded. Hailey raised her eyebrow. Jay gave her a look back, knowing what she was thinking without saying it, confirming that he was thinking it too. They were doing a lot of that these days, communicating without saying word.</p>
<p>“By the way, heard about Will. Is he okay? And Natalie? If you need to go…”, Hailey told him.</p>
<p>“No, it’s fine. I talked to him, he’s banged up, but alright. Thanks”, Jay quickly replied, smiling at her concern for his brother.</p>
<p>That conversation didn’t last long as Voight made his way in a few minutes later.</p>
<p>He was brought up to speed, including being on the receiving end of a pretty big accusation by the head of Homicide. Voight fluffed it off as usual. Intelligence continued to work through the night and into the next morning discussing leads and possible suspects in this case. Jay had his own theories, one of them not sitting very well. </p>
<p>Hailey read his mind, and pulled him aside before they went out to pick up some gang members that might know more about the murder.<br/>
“Jay, Voight wouldn’t put us at risk like this. If he is involved. In going to try and find Monroe, I mean. He’s a lot of things but selfish isn’t one of them”, she reassured him.</p>
<p>He nodded in agreement and went about the day. Monroe was brought in and questioned, but his alibi checked out. Jay and Hailey found out some tough news about Antonio from Adam, it wasn’t looking good. They were happy Adam was out of prison, but now their concern had shifted to their friend, who was missing and using drugs again. They were interrupted by those thoughts to meet up with one of Hailey’s CI’s from the Latin Kings, who ended up giving them some very valuable information. It gave them something to work with, although it pointed to one of their own being the murderer. This really put Jay’s mind in a spin. They were about to head out to look into things further before he pulled Hailey aside in an empty office.</p>
<p>“Hailey, wait hold on a second”, he whispered and motioned that he needed to talk. She watched him close all the doors to the room, checking that no one but them was listening. </p>
<p>“What is it Jay?” She asked as she sat across from him.</p>
<p>“Voight was one of the cops involved in the raid in Pilsen in 2016”, Jay told her.</p>
<p>“A lot of cops were involved in that, that doesn’t mean anything”, she said, trying to play Devil’s advocate, remain unbiased. </p>
<p>He was quiet, grappling with whether or not he should tell her what he was thinking. </p>
<p>She knew that Jay was struggling with this. He was very emotional today, unlike his usual demeanour. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, what happened with Will, Antonio, or this case in general. But she could see on his face it ran deeper than that. He had a bad feeling, and she knew from experience his hunches were usually right. </p>
<p>“So what are you really talking about?” Hailey asked, taking a deep breath as she leaned back onto the desk she was sitting on.</p>
<p>Jay knew Hailey was trying to remain neutral, act as his voice of reason. But he was still hesitant to let her all the way in. He wants to, he trusts her with his life, but to actually let someone in that close again scared him, frankly. He shook his head briefly, took a few deep breaths himself and made the decision to confide in her. </p>
<p>She could see his inner turmoil, but she was tired of beating around the bush. She knew that Jay needed a push in the right direction to open up sometimes, so that’s exactly what she did. She could tell he wanted to say more.</p>
<p>“Jay, say what you want to say”, she encouraged him. For a second she held back on pressing him further, he looked strangely upset, and conflicted.</p>
<p>“I’m not saying Voight’s involved, but the dots are starting to connect and not in a good way”, he suggested, meeting her gaze with an intense look on his face. Her expression changed, reading between the lines of that statement.</p>
<p>For a second, he feels incredibly vulnerable, that Hailey was going to scoff at what he was implying, or ream him out for even thinking that. But she didn’t. In true Hailey fashion, she digested what he said, bit her lip and nodded at him.</p>
<p>Jay spoke up again, “I don’t think we can look the other way on this either.” His moral compass guiding his thoughts about this case. Hailey nodded in agreement, her face telling her partner that she was behind him and would play this how he wanted to play this. </p>
<p>The rest of the day went by in a flash. There were significant developments in the case, including a meeting Jay had with Homicide. He was fuming by the time he came back to the station. He pulled Kevin, Kim and Hailey into the break room, knowing he had to tell them what he just learned.</p>
<p>“They’re going to try and charge us with obstruction?” Kim replied angrily.</p>
<p>Kevin was angry too, “What did you tell him Jay?” </p>
<p>“I told him to go to hell, now you guys have all the info”, he confirmed.</p>
<p>“Regardless of Voight’s involvement or not, there’s no chance I’m siding with homicide over Voight”, Kevin said out loud what they were all thinking.</p>
<p>“Ya neither am I”, Jay said.</p>
<p>“Me too”, Hailey quickly replied backing her partner, Kim following suit as well.</p>
<p>They were all in agreement, as suspected, yet Jay couldn’t shake what he was told earlier out of his mind. “Sometimes you have to look out for you, no one but you. Now is one of those times.” Except that wasn’t how Jay saw it at all. Sure, he did have to watch how he played this. But there was never going to be a time where looking out for Hailey didn’t fit into the equation. As far as he was concerned, they were a package deal.</p>
<p>Throughout the talk with Kevin and Kim, Jay was constantly looking to Hailey for her response, reassurance and support. He knew she would side with him no matter what, but he still needed to see it to believe it. Her side glances told him all he needed to know, that she had his back. </p>
<p>“Okay, its unanimous, what’s our next move?” Hailey said, directing her question to Jay, the unofficial leader of their group now.</p>
<p>They were all looking to him for an answer, but all he could do was look at Hailey for advice. Her opinion was the one that mattered most. She discreetly nodded at him, giving him the push to go ahead. That look didn’t go unnoticed by Kevin and Kim, realizing how in sync the pair had become. It was obvious that Jay didn’t trust or let many people in, but seemed to really value Hailey’s insight. It was also no secret that Jay and Voight had been butting heads on this case. But they decided not to stick their nose in that business. Kevin and Kim shared their own silent look of communication. The four of them then talked about what they should do next, aware of the potential consequences.</p>
<p>Jay and Voight got into it out in the parking lot a while later. Jay eventually working up the courage to ask Voight if he killed Kelton. Voight did not like that, but swore on his son’s life that he didn’t do it. The tension was building between the two, Jay still not liking Voight’s secrecy on the matter.</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you say where you were the other night then?” He questioned aggressively.</p>
<p>“Because if I did…Antonio would lose his job.”</p>
<p>Jay pieced together the rest…so Voight knew more about Antonio and didn’t tell them that either. He was fuming, but also understood the tough position he was in that night. </p>
<p>“You should have said something, we are all worried about him. Adam’s been out looking all over the city…”, Jay back tracked, a hint of emotion in his voice.</p>
<p>“What happened is Antonio’s business and his business only”, Voight replied curtly, signalling that was the end of that discussion.</p>
<p>Jay stood there, going toe to toe with his boss, torn between his loyalty to him and to the rest. They stared at one another before eventually parting, having no way to know the twists and turns that would define their day next. </p>
<p>Once they realized Brennan was responsible for the murder, Voight assured Jay he would handle it. Whatever that meant. Jay was still wary of him, so he took Hailey to her house with him to see if anything shady was going on.</p>
<p>They saw Voight leave by himself, driving away from the scene without Brennan under arrest. This angered Jay, and confused Hailey. </p>
<p>“He’s helping her cover this up, or get out of the country”, he said from the driver’s seat.</p>
<p>“He told you he was going to handle this, to stand down Jay”, Hailey reminded him.</p>
<p>“This is ridiculous I’m going in there”, Jay said as he stormed out of the truck.</p>
<p>Hailey rolled her eyes, “Yes this is ridiculous”, she thought of Jay’s response, but followed him in there reluctantly anyways, not willing to let her partner do this alone.<br/>
Hailey covered the front as Jay went around back. When she heard yelling, she had a bad feeling and entered the home. </p>
<p>“Kate, stop, stop, stop, put the gun down! Please don’t do this”, she could hear Jay begging from the living room. Hailey drew her weapon and quietly turned around the corner. What she saw next surprised her. Brennan in full dress blues, ready to end her own life. The look on Jay’s face was distress, his eyes wide with fear. He was trying to talk Brennan down, but it wasn’t looking good. </p>
<p>“It’s over, you can come with me down to the station, tell your side of the story”, he continued pleading. “Please don’t do this.”</p>
<p>Hailey yelled to try and create a distraction long enough for Jay to intervene and disarm her, but it was too late. The gun went off, Brennan dropping to the floor right before their eyes. Jay looked up at Hailey, in total shock at what he just witnessed. </p>
<p>They were silent for a second, unsure what they were going to do next. Eventually, Hailey collected herself and broke the silence in the room.</p>
<p>“We have to call this in.” Jay just nodded at her, looking dejected.</p>
<p>“She left a note Jay, we can still write this up as a suicide.”</p>
<p>“Voight’s going to know we were following him”, Jay said bluntly, his face void of all emotion now. </p>
<p>Hailey moved to walk over to him and to Brennan’s body but he stopped her, not wanting her to see the carnage laying at his feet. His feet felt like they were stuck in cement, Hailey’s eye’s were wide, wondering if he was going to spiral. But he pulled himself together and walked out the front door with her. Hailey made the dreaded call to Voight, Jay sat quietly on the front stoop with his head in his hands.</p>
<p>Voight raced back minutes later, already looking furious. Hailey’s call informed him of what happened, trying to dodge around the fact that they had entered her home and her suicide didn’t play out as planned. Voight made it back first but there was going to be many more cops on the way, he made it clear that there would be time for talking, or rather yelling, later.</p>
<p>They set up a containment and processed the scene as if Hailey and Jay walked in on Brennan already dead. No one batted an eye and seemed to buy their story, all but Voight of course.</p>
<p>He waited until they were back at the station before letting loose on Jay. Hailey knew that Jay was upset, and not in a good place after witnessing what he just did, but they both stood in the bay and took it. </p>
<p>“How dare you. Going behind my back like that!” “If you don’t trust me Jay, the way I do business concerns you, then get the hell out!” Voight was yelling at her partner, but only Hailey could see Jay’s hands trembling behind his own back. Out of concern for his well-being she made a split second rash decision. </p>
<p>“Sarge enough”, Hailey said sharply, the words coming out of her mouth in that tone before she had time to stop herself. That took Voight by surprise.</p>
<p>Voight knew the two of them were close, but Hailey’s response to this really showed him her hand. How far she was really willing to go to defend her partner. If he wasn’t so angry right now her loyalty would be endearing. He held back on any further comments, glaring at Jay first then moving his gaze to Hailey, who didn’t seem fazed that she just talked back to her superior after a very questionable situation. He smirked at her for just a second, it was something a young version of himself would have done. </p>
<p>“The two of you need to talk to the psychologist about what you just witnessed. I expect the reports on my desk tomorrow morning”, that was what he ended with, recognizing that what they saw, Jay in particular, was disturbing. He did have sympathy for them for that. He turned around and left the two of them alone leaning against Jay’s truck.</p>
<p>They both let out a deep breath after Voight disappeared inside the building. </p>
<p>“Jay…”, Hailey started. He cut her off, already knowing what she was going to say.</p>
<p>“I don’t want your sympathy, I’ve seen that before. Too many times actually. But I’m okay. I’ll go see the psychologist for the formality. See you tomorrow”, he brushed her off, not wanting to linger any longer or else he might say too much.</p>
<p>Hailey knew Jay was not okay. That much was obvious. He was putting on a tough front, but she knew he was falling apart on the inside. Seeing him walk away killed her. She wanted to call him back, give him a hug, tell him it was going to be okay. But she couldn’t do that, not now anyways.</p>
<p>A few hours passed by at home, Hailey tried to keep herself busy, distract her from her own thoughts. She tried calling Jay a few times after her own therapy session, but he didn’t answer. Eventually he replied to a text saying that he was alright, that he was checking in on Will. She wasn’t so sure that was entirely true but decided to let it go, told him to say hi to his brother for her and leave him be for the night. That was until she heard a small knock on her door a few hours later, just after 10, having a feeling who would be on the other side.</p>
<p>She opened the door slowly to see Jay standing on her front step with his hands in his pockets. </p>
<p>“Can I come in?” He asked quietly. </p>
<p>Hailey nodded, stepping aside to make room for him to walk through the doorway.</p>
<p>She didn’t exactly know what to say to him, this was new territory that they were in. Sure, he’s shown up on her doorstep after a tough case before, plenty of times really. But this felt different.</p>
<p>He sat on a barstool in her kitchen, like he’s done so many times before. She poured him some tequila without asking if that was what he wanted, she already knew. This, like many other things, was part of their thing. </p>
<p>“Hailey you didn’t have to get in the middle like that, with Voight. I don’t want you to get in trouble for this”, Jay said sounding concerned. </p>
<p>“If it’s on you, it’s on me too”, she replied with a familiar line, one she’s reiterated to him time and time again. </p>
<p>“No it’s not. You didn’t want me to go in there”, he said.</p>
<p>“Jay, you’re my partner, there’s no version of this or any other story where I would have let you go in alone. Just because I don’t always agree with you doesn’t mean I’m not going to have your back”, Hailey confirmed. What would it take for Jay to realize once and for all that she was on his side no matter what? </p>
<p>He nodded and smiled weakly at her, not really looking up from his drink. </p>
<p>Jay was obviously upset, after witnessing what he did today. Hailey saw it too, but not Brennan’s face as she pulled the trigger. Jay wouldn’t forget the look in her eyes for the rest of his life. He shielded Hailey from seeing Brennan’s face, or what was left of it after her self-inflicted gun shot wound. She could see his hands shaking and his voice cracking as he was re-living the moment in his mind. Jay wasn’t normally one for showing his emotions. But today was different. He usually kept those bottled up well, tucked away on the top shelf. He let himself unwind a bit in front of Hailey and only Hailey. But even then, he was still guarded. She saw that and recognized that he was upset, and struggling. She softly put her hand over one of his shaky ones fiddling with his glass, and gave him a look.</p>
<p>“It’s okay to be upset. What you saw….was not good. I’m here if you want to talk”, she put that out there, unsure what type of response she was going to get, if any.</p>
<p>“Okay”, he nodded quietly, without looking at her, in fear he would lose it if he did. Hailey knew he was dangerously close to unravelling. After holding it in for so long, it was bound to happen at some point. She really thought she was going to see him cry for the first time tonight. Before it got to that point, Jay deeply exhaled and moved to sit on her couch in the living room. Hailey did the same. </p>
<p>She wasn’t sure what he wanted right now, he was hard to read. So, she left to go make them a cup of chamomile tea. When she returned he raised his eyebrow at her.<br/>
“I was hoping for tequila”, he said sarcastically. </p>
<p>Hailey saw right through his façade. </p>
<p>“Jay you’re tired, you need to slow down and rest”, she replied, sending an unspoken invitation to stay at her house. </p>
<p>He softly smiled at her, before his bottom lip started quivering, he bit it to try and control his emotions and regain his composure. Hailey saw that and immediately sat back down next to him in silence. </p>
<p>“Today was just a lot”, he said honestly, as he was trying to suppress his increased heart rate and breathing.</p>
<p>“I know”, she whispered, eyeing up his physical response to the pain he was feeling.</p>
<p>Without thinking twice she put a hand on his back, rubbing it gently, comforting her partner. This was new for them. As much as they supported one another, it rarely manifested itself in a physical way. They were both guarded, careful, stoic. Never giving the other too much. As much as she’s wanted to do this and more for him before, she never crossed that line in fear that she’d never be able to go back. That it would lead to more, she knew he felt it too. That’s why as close as they were, they also always kept a distance, a physical boundary of some sort. Jay seemed to be surprised that she did that as well, tensing up at her touch at first, before relaxing again as she soothed him silently for a few minutes.</p>
<p>“It’s okay”, she whispered as he took a few deep breaths and got a hold of his emotions once again. They didn’t normally need a lot of words to communicate, this being one of those times. However it was what wasn’t said that spoke the loudest.</p>
<p>Jay had been teetering on that emotional ledge all day, and he knew if he made eye contact with Hailey he was going to lose it. So he kept his head down instead, nodding as she rubbed small circles in his back. The comfort of her gentle touch was enough for him. Hailey didn’t really show her emotions very often either, this was a rare slip up on her part too. </p>
<p>“I don’t really want to be alone tonight”, that part he did say loud and clear after a few minutes. The opposite of what he normally expressed to her. Hailey smiled and disappeared for a second, returning with a pillow and blanket from her hall closet. It went without saying that he was spending the night on her couch, another new thing for them. </p>
<p>He smirked in her direction, their first sleepover. In a weird way, this was exactly how he wanted to end this shitty day. Hailey turned on the TV to watch a movie before bed, Jay dozed off about halfway through. It had been a wild few days, Hailey was running on little sleep as well. </p>
<p>She looked over at her partner who was passed out cold on his side of the couch. She watched his chest rise and fall for a few minutes before she quietly got up and lifted his legs onto the couch so that he was lying horizontal. She also adjusted his pillow to be further down from the armrest so that he wouldn’t get a sore neck. She gently laid the blanket over top of him, he stirred slightly when she did that but never opened his eyes. She had a brief thought about sleeping on the other couch next to him so that she would be close by during the night, but decided against it. She turned the TV and lamp on the coffee table off, silently making her way up to her bedroom, creeping up the stairs to pass out herself. </p>
<p>The next morning she woke up early, tossing and turning, thinking about last night’s events. She had finally worked up the nerve to go downstairs and tell Jay how she was really feeling. But when she turned the corner all she saw was a folded up blanket and pillow on her couch, along with a note. </p>
<p>Thanks for last night Hailey, see you at work. Breakfast on me this morning.</p>
<p>She was too late, Jay was up and gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Old Married Couple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 2</p><p>What Hailey didn’t see before she got up was Jay doing some tossing and turning of his own. He slept relatively well on her couch, all things considered. For once, he actually slept most of the night, not his usual up every hour or two restless state. Maybe it was the tequila, or his subconscious recognizing that he was safe here.</p><p>When he was awake through the night, it became apparent to him that he had fallen asleep at some point during the movie they were watching and that Hailey tucked him in and disappeared upstairs. She had moved his legs onto the couch and covered him with a blanket, he couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if he stayed awake just a bit longer. He imagined her warm hands rubbing his back again, that in itself was a comfort, causing him to self soothe and fall back into a deep slumber.</p><p>Once the sun rose and peaked through the curtains in her living room, Jay decided to get up. It was only 6:30, early enough that Hailey was potentially awake, but too early for her to drag herself out of bed. He knew her routines, she was predictable and hated any time before 7:30 am at the very earliest.</p><p>He quickly tidied up and left her a note, promising breakfast when she made it in to work. He left feeling like the weight that he had been carrying was just a bit lighter. </p><p>Hailey made it into work just before 9, and as promised Jay had coffee and food waiting for her. Instead of the usual simple breakfast he got her if it was his turn, she reached into a takeout bag to find a healthy smoothie bowl. One of those fancy ones from a health store, with seeds and fruits and toppings Jay didn’t even know how to pronounce. Something very outside of his usual selection anyways. She raised her eyebrow and turned in his direction, he had been eyeing her up, waiting for her to turn and look at him.</p><p>“Whoa, you must have done something real bad Halstead. Spoiling Upton like that”, Kevin jumped in, also aware of the lavish breakfast.</p><p>Kim was quite certain Jay didn’t know what “acai” was, but she laughed anyways. </p><p>“He didn’t do anything bad, shockingly, guess this is just my lucky day”, Hailey smirked in his direction. Jay shrugged his shoulders in response, laughing as he sipped his own coffee, adding to the mystery of their ever evolving situation. Everyone was aware they had an unspoken favour system. The two partner’s didn’t exactly hide it. They also all knew what happened yesterday with Brennan, Jay and Hailey, and Voight…</p><p>Kim suspected that they met up last night at the very least. She saw Jay leave the station and he looked pretty upset. Hailey must have calmed him down, let him vent and took care of him. She heard a rumour from Platt that Hailey even talked back to Voight when<br/>he was pushing Jay too hard after Brennan shot herself. Sometimes Kim wished she could be a little more fearless like Hailey. Maybe this was Jay’s way of repaying her.<br/>Voight walked in and gave them some information about their case for the week shortly after everyone arrived for the day. Kevin had been undercover for a few days now, trying to infiltrate one of the South side’s biggest drug empires. </p><p>Before everyone shipped out for the day, Jay went to Voight’s office to clear the air, make sure things were good between them. Voight’s response didn’t exactly put his mind at total ease, but didn’t make him feel like he was in danger of being kicked out of the unit either. He took a deep breath and followed Hailey downstairs, accepting this was just where they were at.</p><p>The two were doing surveillance in a van outside the bar Kevin was at. Things got a little hairy when Kevin’s CI pulled a gun on him, something that was not part of the plan. Hailey wanted to move in, get Kevin out of there, but Jay settled her down.</p><p>“It’s alright Hailey, let it play out. Kev know’s what he’s doing”, he said as he reached his hand up to sit her back down next to him, grazing the front of her shirt. She felt the goose bumps rise up, Jay quickly realized what he had done and played it off like it was nothing.</p><p>“Sorry”, he mumbled.</p><p>“All good”, Hailey brushed it off too. It was good in a few ways, Hailey thought. But, back to reality.</p><p>Turns out Jay was right, Kevin had things under control, and in hindsight, were grateful that they didn’t blow his cover. This proved to be important later in the day when Jay had to go under too, pretending to be Kevin’s supplier.</p><p>“Juarez”, Jay let it roll off his tongue, trying to get the r’s just right.</p><p>“No one is going to believe you have a cousin in Juarez if you can’t even pronounce it right”, Kim scolded him, but also giggled. She was the team’s sole Spanish speaker now, so she had to keep the others in check. Having Jay pose as the supplier was a bit of a stretch given the connections this gang had, the Latin Players involved too. But he was their only option at this point.</p><p>The meeting went well, or so Kevin and Jay thought, the latter a bit offended when the deal fell through.</p><p>“Ya turns out they just weren’t feeling you Jay”, Kev jokingly said.</p><p>“Me? But I’m a great drug dealer”, he remarked sarcastically, getting a laugh from the group. </p><p>“Okay so what now?” Jay asked but didn’t have time to receive a response. A radio call went out reporting a shooting just a few blocks away.</p><p>“Let’s go, we’re close”, Hailey said as she ran to the vehicle.</p><p>“On it. Kev, we’ll meet up later, don’t blow your cover!” Jay said as he ran to the truck.</p><p>Hailey and Jay walked into a gruesome scene. They had just missed the shooters. They were about to head out when they heard some rustling from the back of the building.</p><p>Jay motioned for Hailey to move forward, that he would cover her. Turns out the girlfriend of one of the victims was hiding, pointing a gun at the two of them. They both stayed calm, trying to get her to put the gun down.</p><p>“No! You’re going to shoot me!” The girl screamed.</p><p>“Trust me, if we wanted you dead, you would already be dead”, Hailey yelled back. She had been increasingly sassy as of late, Jay loved it. She was really coming into her own in this unit.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Jay caught something that Hailey couldn’t see from her point of view. In the chaos of things, the girl with the gun still had the safety on, which to Jay meant two things. One, that she had no idea what she was doing. And two, that she was scared, she wasn’t a risk of shooting him or Hailey. So he lunged for her and the weapon, hearing Hailey’s voice behind him. </p><p>“Jay! No!” He thought for a second Hailey sounded scared too until he turned around to see her expression turn from one of frozen terror to anger. She was giving him the side eye the entire time the girl was being arrested until he spoke up.</p><p>“The safety was on”, he reassured her. Her face softened a bit after that, but he could tell she was still a little thrown off by his actions. </p><p>The rest of the day went a bit more interesting than they all expected. Kevin’s bartender hook-up was actually undercover police. They all ended up in a strange stand-off in a warehouse during a fake drug buy, but agreed to join forces to take down the kingpin himself. The case ended as expected, everyone in custody and all loose ends tied.</p><p>“You see a little chemistry between Rojas and Atwater back there?”  Jay said slyly to Hailey when they were alone in his truck.</p><p>Hailey smirked back and raised her eyebrows. “Maybe a little, I could see it. She’s fierce, I like her.”</p><p>“Ya she seems like good police”, Jay agreed. “This unit needs some youth, some fun.”</p><p>Hailey smiled, “You’re just trying to get the new girl in to deflect some attention from you right now.” Jay knew Hailey was on to him. </p><p>By the time they were back at the station, Kevin and Kim were sitting upstairs. Trudy was out dealing with something and Voight was de-briefing with Narcotics.</p><p>Jay decided to stir the pot, he was in a fun mood today, feeling surprisingly good considering the anniversary that was coming up.</p><p>“So Kev, Rojas huh?” Jay smirked. Kevin turned around, not expecting feisty Jay today.</p><p>“She’s a cool girl”, Kevin replied smoothly, Burgess nudging him too.</p><p>“If she happens to move up here, are you two going to feel threatened as our old married couple in the unit? You know the ladies can’t resist this”, Kevin boldly asked as he showed them some dance moves and flashed a smile in Jay and Hailey’s direction, both of their mouths dropping.</p><p>“I missed when we got married”, Hailey laughed looking down at her ring finger then to Jay. The latter quickly realizing this joke was going to backfire on him.</p><p>“We are not the old married couple in this unit”, Jay replied with a bit of defensive sass, Kev recognizing he hit a sore spot, so naturally, he pushed further.</p><p>“Oh please. You two are the MOST married here. You fight like cats and dogs, stay at each other’s houses, have your own secret eye language, spend most of your down time together…”, Kevin smiled as he watched the two of them squirm. </p><p>Again, their natural closeness wasn’t exactly kept a secret from everyone. It was obvious they clicked, and they spent a lot of time together, but no one really pushed it further. They knew Hailey and Jay were private as individuals and as a cohesive unit. It was one of those things that was just another thing of theirs, accepted and unspoken by all.</p><p>Jay shared a look with Hailey and Kim interjected, “See, secret eye language! You’re doing it now without even realizing.” </p><p>Hailey and Jay smirked, they could confess to that at the very least. They did have a way with non-verbal communication. </p><p>“Alright, alright. Sure we are…close”, Hailey offered, in a rare outgoing speech to the group. “But, I’m curious why you think we are the old married couple. Don’t let Platt hear this, you know she’ll be offended”, Hailey joked.</p><p>“Ahem, well. Where do we begin. Burgess, the file?” Kevin asked his friend to start them off. Kim pulled out her phone to read her notes. Jay and Hailey shared a curious look at each other then to them.<br/>“Oh, I’ve been waiting for this day”, Kim replied confidently. Jay and Hailey giving her the go ahead to proceed.</p><p>“Hailey, July 6th 2019 2 pm. You and Jay were fighting about the outcome of the Bachelorette. Do you recall what you finished the heated conversation with after he kept pushing his theory that Pilot Pete was going to be the new Bachelor?” Hailey pursed her lips and turned to Jay looking guilty.</p><p>“We’ll talk about this at home”, she said quietly, mouthing sorry to her partner, hanging her head in fake shame, laughing all the while. </p><p>“Next up. March 8th 2018…”</p><p>“2018?” Jay laughed, shaking his head at the commitment Burgess had kept to this project.</p><p>“Yes 2018. Jay, you came to work very ill one morning. Ended up having strep throat.”</p><p>“Yes I recall said event”, he confirmed, playing a calm, cool, collected front.</p><p>“Hailey, you not only let him sleep through your massive quarterly report writing afternoon but you snuck in and covered him with your jacket while he was sleeping on the break room couch because he had the chills.”</p><p>“Objection. I don’t understand how that’s an old married couple trait. My partner was down for the count, I was simply taking good care of him”, Hailey was defending her case as if she was on the stand in court. </p><p>“In addition, you rubbed his back several times in secret, which you NEVER do for anyone, and made him some tea. You then proceeded to drive him straight to urgent care after work, waited with him and made sure he got settled back at home”, Kim stated.</p><p>“I was also sick that week, neither Burgess or Ruzek would come near me. Threw a bottle of Tylenol at me and told me to go home”, Kevin added. Jay bit his lip and smirked.</p><p>“You’ll really like this then Kev. Kim, you missed the part when she stayed at my place that night and made chicken soup from scratch and spoon fed it to me herself as I was lying in my deathbed”, Jay added fuel to the fire, stirring the pot even further as he saw his wide eyed partner glare at him, shaking her head. Kim was eating this up.</p><p>“Jay Alexander! You’re not helping our case” Hailey blurted out, making Kevin and Burgess squeal with delight.</p><p>“Alexander. Let me write that down”, Kim laughed as Jay shook his head at the use of his middle name, knowingly digging themselves a hole. </p><p>“I’d like to note for the record, these have been a little one sided so far Burgess, let’s hear some Jay evidence”, Hailey said egging her on, much to Jay’s terror, he knew there was a few things. His turn to be in the hot seat.</p><p>“Oh I was getting there. That’s on another tab”, Kim smiled, like she had even better Jay ones.</p><p>“This is an easy one to start. When Hailey’s dishwasher was acting up a few weeks ago… Jay right in front of everyone, including Voight and Platt you said- I’ll come take a look after we get paint for your bathroom at Home Depot on Sunday. Didn’t even bat an eye. That is the most domestic thing I have ever heard. And from you no less. Caught red-handed Halstead. Don’t think this isn’t on you too.” Now Jay was blushing even more than Hailey, it was her turn to laugh. </p><p>“Okay that’s fair. That was a slip up on my part I will admit. We don’t tell too many people this, but Hailey and I have a strong love for… Jay hesitated, watching as Kim and Kevin were hanging on every word he said in hopes he would finish with each other… home improvement stores.”</p><p>“You almost had me Halstead”, Kim replied cheekily. But two can play at this game. And now. The final nail in the coffin, the married habit of all married habits. February 15, 2019. The day Hailey and I got kidnapped.” </p><p>Hailey gulped, not remembering what Kim would have on them from that day, other than a slightly awkward conversation about her relationship with Adam at the time.</p><p>“Hailey after we talked I left the locker room. I forgot my jacket and came back, but when I did I heard you and Jay talking quietly around the corner so I didn’t want to disturb you. It sounded kind of heavy and private…”, Kim trailed off as Jay and Hailey shared another one of their looks. One of remembering when Jay apologized for letting Hailey out of his sight, he felt guilty that she was hurt.</p><p>“But I couldn’t help myself about eavesdropping and boy did it pay off. What I did see was maybe the cutest thing I’ve ever seen”, Kev perked up, clearly not knowing this one.</p><p>“I turned the corner to see what was going on to find Hailey struggling to get her jacket on, looking a bit out of sorts. Your face and body had seen better days, sorry Hails”, Hailey agreed by nodding her head. </p><p>“Next thing you know, Jay swooped in to help carefully put your arms in your sleeves and zip up your jacket for you. Getting you dressed like you were in first grade. And then my favourite thing of all time, I’m so glad I can finally let this out in a non-weird way and tell you I witnessed this Jay…” Jay smiled bashfully, knowing what Kim was referring to. </p><p>“Your hair kept falling in your face, going into the cuts and hurting you Hailey and you were too sore to keep pushing it back. I crept around the corner to see Jay gently braiding your hair for you and whispering that you were going to be okay, that your cuts and bruises would heal. That you still looked pretty. It was cute as hell.” </p><p>Hailey stole a glance Jay’s way, only she knows that he can braid hair because he used to do it for his mom when she was sick and too weak to do it herself. Before her hair fell out anyways. Aside from that, what Kim said was true, Jay did all of that for her, but she missed him saying one thing to her that night. He kept reassuring her that things were going to be okay but also that tonight he was going to take care of her and never let her out of his sight again. That was the first and only time she’s ever heard Jay put his feelings into words, or as close to it as possible. Missing moment it was.</p><p>“Well daaamn Halstead. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you after all”, Kev joked and broke the comfortable silence in the room. Hailey and Jay exchanged intense looks at one another while Kim and Kev watched on eagerly.</p><p>“So. In conclusion, these are a few of many examples as to why you two are resident married couple of the 21st district. Whether you may or may not marry for real in the future is a debate for another time”, Kim added before Kevin slapped her arm at that last comment.</p><p>The mood in the bullpen went from happy and fun to a weird veil of tension, not in a bad way, but feelings of anticipating professions of love. </p><p>“I’m more concerned that you guys keep a record of these things”, Jay said brushing off any serious comments about the matter. Hailey chimed in and agreed, trying not to take this kangaroo court too seriously. </p><p>“You might thank us one day”, Kim smiled back, clearly pleased with herself. She received eye rolls back from the detectives instead. </p><p>Jay and Hailey left together for the day shortly after, much to the amusement of Kevin and Kim.</p><p>“Sorry for getting them riled up in there”, Jay said sheepishly in the truck.</p><p>Hailey smiled, “It’s alright. All in good fun hubby.”</p><p>Jay playfully rolled his eyes, “Happy wife, happy life.”</p><p>“You got it.”</p><p>The rest of the ride home was quiet, each enjoying the silence after a long day.</p><p>Jay pulled his truck up to the curb out front of Hailey’s house, shutting off the engine. He turned to her, silently hoping that she would invite him in for a drink. Do their thing. But Hailey turned her head to the side, biting her lip, hesitating. </p><p>He smiled back at her, reading her expression. She was giving him a look that told him she wasn’t ready for that conversation yet. It’s okay, he can wait. He will wait for her.</p><p>“Night Hails”, Jay said softly.</p><p>“Night Jay”, Hailey smiled and hopped out of the truck, fighting the urge to turn around and look back at her partner as he drove away. If she did, she might reconsider and ask him to come in and stay again.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. That's how Adam and Hailey got together?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 3</p><p>Jay and Hailey looked at each other, stunned.</p><p>“Upton, you’re going to be partnered with Rojas now. Kim and Jay ride together.”</p><p>The words barely left Voight’s mouth before Hailey glanced over at Jay, flashing him a confused look, he did the same. Only his look was more one of great loss, his eyes trying to tell her more than his mouth could at the moment. </p><p>Hailey stormed into Voight’s office, intending to give him a piece of her mind. She was bold with him a few days ago, she wasn’t afraid to do it again. Especially when it came to Jay. </p><p>“Sarge, what just happened?” She said angrily as she closed the door to his office.</p><p>“I’m putting you with Rojas because I need to evaluate her, and I know you’ll shoot me straight”, he replied, getting a silent kick out of how defensive Hailey was about being split up from her partner. It reminded him of another partner of his, only under different terms. That was a different life it seemed now.</p><p>Hailey’s expression softened just a bit as she read between the lines, that this arrangement wasn’t going to be a permanent one. </p><p>“Still. It takes a lot of time to build a partnership, and Jay and I are working”, she replied defensively.</p><p>“I know you are. But Rojas needs someone looking out for her. And I need someone who will give me an honest opinion”, Voight replied.</p><p>Hailey sat with that information for a second before replying. “Alright. Well I guess that can work for now.” She emphasized the for now, making it clear to Voight that she didn’t want this to be a permanent change.</p><p>“Upton. I’m not blind, I know you and Jay work well together. Ever notice why the two of you are paired when you’re the only Detectives in this unit? Why I didn’t split you up, spread you out to mentor the others? It’s because you are the right fit for this team and the right fit for each other.”</p><p>Hailey tried to hide her smile, only allowing a smirk to slip out.</p><p>“Copy that.”</p><p> </p><p>Hailey missed Jay. She caught herself getting up to leave when he left the office, heading towards his truck instead of her own absentmindedly. They snuck in a few times working together throughout the day, but it wasn’t the same. They never really talked about it, but they both ached for each other. So much so that Jay still made her an afternoon coffee, still followed her out when she left, and kept referring to Kim as Hailey. Even after apologizing profusely, Kim still knew he wanted Hailey back.</p><p>As for Rojas, she was a little inconventional, but overall did a good job today. </p><p>“So?” Voight asked.</p><p>“She’s good police. But did go off book twice. Both times her instincts were right, but there’s going to be a time when they aren’t…”, Hailey elaborated.</p><p>Voight nodded, understanding her train of thought.</p><p>“So it’s a no?” </p><p>“I never said that…”, Hailey replied.</p><p>Hailey talked to Rojas in the locker room and it ended in inviting her to stay at her place for the time being. Until she was on her feet, and able to find a place of her own. She wasn’t sure what possessed her to do it, but she did. Maybe she felt the need to take the young gun under her wing, mentor her, try to prevent her from making the same mistakes she did. And then there was the undercover thing, she knew what that life was like. Hard, isolating and confusing coming out of it, integrating back into the real world. She was hoping her house would be a safe haven for Vanessa, make her transition back to her normal life a smoother one.</p><p>“Come on roomie”, Hailey said jokingly as she helped Rojas with her bag.</p><p>They drove back to Hailey’s place together, chatting and getting to know each other along the way. </p><p>“Molly’s?” Adam poked his head around the corner of the locker room, finding Jay and Kevin getting ready to leave for the night. Kevin agreed immediately. Jay was in a bit of a sour mood today, Adam wasn’t sure if it was because of splitting up with Hailey or what. He thought about it for a second…</p><p>“Come on man, I need a night out. Really”, Adam practically begging him. Jay thought about all Adam had been through as of late and decided to go.</p><p>“Alright I’m down. Meet you guys there”, he said.</p><p>One drink turned into several, and before they knew it, Adam, Kevin and Jay were up on stage doing karaoke. Much to the delight of the usual patrons.</p><p>“Do you guys take requests?” Yelled Hermann. </p><p>“If I wasn’t with Kelly….”, Stella playfully said as she flashed a flirty smile at the trio. Kelly shaking his head and laughing at their on stage Magic Mike antics. </p><p>The cops mingled with the firefighters and continued on with their night. Jay actually forgot for a second that he was feeling sad today. More sad that Hailey didn’t even seem to remember what today was. But why should she really.</p><p>Things were going great, Jay had a good buzz on. That was until Adam came over and unloaded some information.</p><p>“Jay… I meant to ask earlier. How are you doing? I know today was the anniversary of your dad passing.”</p><p>“Oh. Um, I’m good man. Thanks”, Jay replied, a little confused as to how Adam of all people knew that.</p><p>Sensing his confusion, “I saw Will at Med earlier today. He let it slip by accident”, Adam explained.</p><p>That made sense, Jay thought. “I’m good, really. Thanks for checking in.”</p><p>“Good to hear. Well that and the anniversary of you getting shot. Man, if I didn’t say it then I’ll say it now. I’m glad you’re here. When Hailey and I turned that corner…we thought you were gone.”</p><p>Jay cringed at the thought of that, remembering how Hailey was crouched over him, the fear in her eyes as she ripped open his shirt. Adam saw his face and reacted the same.</p><p>“Hailey was a mess. I have never seen her cry like that before”, Adam elaborated to a now confused Jay. Sure Hailey was scared when he was lying there, but overall she kept him calm and stayed level-headed throughout the whole ordeal. Even when she sat with him in the ambulance, she held it together for the two of them.</p><p>“When was she crying?” Jay questioned. Adam’s face went blank, realizing he might have just said something he shouldn’t have.</p><p>“After she left you in the ambulance…she lost it. That was when her and I went out for a drink. One drink turned into ten and yeah…. Sorry man I thought you knew”, Adam confessed.</p><p>Jay looked at him curiously, putting the pieces together. Remembering her as she walked away from him in the back of the ambulance, watching Ruzek comfort her when it should have been him. He just never clued in that they got together for the first time that night. It made him feel confused, and a little angry. He knew she was upset, did Ruzek take advantage of her?</p><p>Jay tried not to react in front of Adam, just nodding. “Yeah, no, it’s alright. The difference a year makes huh”, Jay forced a smile.</p><p>“You’re telling me brother. Cheers to that”, Adam said clinking his glass with Jay’s before going to find Kevin. The former just assuming Jay knew the in’s and out’s of his short fling with Hailey. Those two told each other everything, or so he thought. </p><p>Jay sat there and finished a double, then another and one more for good measure. That’s how Adam and Hailey got together? Was all he kept thinking. He couldn’t help but think what would have happened if he wasn’t so stupid that night. Maybe Hailey would have never been with Adam, maybe he would have been brave enough to tell her how he really felt. Maybe now they might not ever know.</p><p>“Whoa, Detective”, Stella said as she watched Jay stumble off the bar stool. She eyed Kelly who went over to check on Jay. </p><p>“You alright man?” Kelly asked, steadying Jay with his arm.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah all good”, Jay replied.</p><p>“How are you getting home?” Kelly asked.</p><p>“I was just going to Uber”, Jay replied then added something about going over to stay at Hailey’s place. Kelly and Stella looked at each other a little confused, but hey who were they to judge in house romance.</p><p>“Alright well I’ll wait outside with you until it gets here”, Kelly looked at Stella who nodded. Immediately pulling out her phone, Stella sent a quick text to Hailey, checking the time hoping she wasn’t in bed already. It was just before midnight.</p><p>Heads up, Jay is pretty drunk at Molly’s. He just told Kelly he was taking an Uber over to your place. Best of luck with that lol. –Stella</p><p>Hailey was just about to crawl into bed when she got that text from Stella. Shaking her head and laughing a bit, never a dull moment. She heard a soft knock at her door about ten minutes later so she hurried down, to not wake Vanessa up.</p><p>“Oh boy”. She said as he walked past her in the doorway, she could smell the whiskey seeping out of his pores.</p><p>She had never seen Jay this drunk before. He looked at her with sad eyes, but eyes that were also hazed over. She wasn’t really sure what the nature of this visit was going to be.</p><p>“Are you okay?” She asked quietly, testing the waters.</p><p>“No”, he shook his head, stumbling toward her living room and plopping himself on the couch.</p><p>She followed shortly behind with a glass of water, hoping it would sober him up a bit. </p><p>“Here, drink this”, she said as she handed it to him, he gulped it down quickly. She wasn’t really sure what was wrong, but it was obvious that something was bothering him.</p><p>“My dad died a year ago”, he said suddenly.</p><p>Hailey silently kicked herself, how could she forget that it had been a year. </p><p>“I’m sorry Jay, today must have been hard.” She said as she scooted over closer to him.</p><p>“You know we didn’t have the best relationship, but he was still my dad you know? I haven’t really processed it I don’t think. Not having any parents left.”</p><p>Hailey looked at him and listened as he continued to unload.</p><p>Suddenly he looked at her, and she knew that face. He was going to be sick. He quickly ran off into her bathroom, throwing up all the alcohol he had consumed that night.</p><p>She cringed as she listened to him, but gave him time to let it out. In the mean time, Rojas made her way downstairs, hearing the commotion. Jay wasn’t exactly quiet.</p><p>“Is everything okay? I could hear someone being sick”, Rojas said sleepily, trying to piece together who could be in the bathroom, at this point she ruled Hailey out.</p><p>“Everything’s okay. It’s Jay, had a few too many at Molly’s”, Hailey said trying to brush off the situation.</p><p>Rojas was confused. She didn’t think they were dating, but maybe. Jay came here for some reason after a night out. </p><p>“Oh, okay. Well let me know if you need anything.”</p><p>“Thanks Vanessa, you can go back to bed. We’re good.” </p><p>As Hailey said that, Jay opened the door and stumbled out of her bathroom, looking a little rough. He looked up at Rojas in the staircase, equally as confused. He looked at Hailey who said. “Vanessa is crashing with me for a bit until she finds a place.”<br/>Jay just nodded and walked back towards the couch, a little embarrassed. Hailey motioned for Rojas to go back upstairs and she did, or so she thought. Jay was leaned forward with his head in his hands, Hailey had a hand on his back whispering something quietly to him. Vanessa came in quietly with another glass of water and some Advil, silently handing them to Hailey who nodded gratefully. This is not exactly how she thought their first night would go, or want Vanessa to think this was a thing.</p><p>“It’s okay Jay”, Hailey said gently, not convinced he was done being sick.</p><p>He nodded as she whispered words of encouragement and comfort to him. But he still had one more elephant in the room to address.</p><p>“Adam told me something tonight. Before you get mad at him, to be fair I think he thought I already knew…”, Jay started. Hailey gulped, finally knowing where this was heading.</p><p>“You got together with Adam that night”, Jay said, sounding hurt.</p><p>Hailey saw the hurt in his eyes, he was trying to hide it with a tough face, but she saw it underneath. </p><p>She let out a deep sigh, “Yeah. I didn’t know how to tell you. After the way you found out about Adam and I in the first place. Figured that would add to the weirdness…”</p><p>Jay’s turn to breathe in and out, unsure if he should say what he was about to say.</p><p>“Hailey, um. I’m sorry. For that day, I know I said some things…that really hurt you. And I was stupid and selfish. I didn’t realize you were so upset about me getting shot.”</p><p>Not the reaction she was expecting. “Didn’t think I was so upset about you getting shot? Jay, we turned that corner and I thought you were dead”, her voice cracked unexpectedly.</p><p>He looked down, unsure how to respond, so she continued.</p><p>“So yeah, I was upset. Both devastated and relieved as I walked away. But I was so worked up that I started crying after I left you in the ambulance. Ruzek happened to be there, we went out for drinks. A few turned into ten and…that happened.”</p><p>Jay didn’t really consider that was the reason for them getting together. It made sense, but he still had questions.</p><p>“And before you say he took advantage of me being upset, that is so far from the truth. It was mutual. I was upset because I almost lost you, Ruzek just happened to be the one I turned to. It should have been you Jay…I should have gone to the hospital with you…”</p><p>Jay cut Hailey off by putting his hand on her knee. “It’s okay Hailey. You don’t have to explain anything. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”</p><p>“No I think we should talk about this”, Hailey said, Jay’s eyes meeting hers.</p><p>“If I could go back….I would have stayed with you. I knew you were in pain, and hurting emotionally. What kind of partner was I just to leave you there by yourself? And not even check on you later that night?” Hailey said voicing her own concerns for the first time.</p><p>Jay jumped in. “A good one. I didn’t deserve you taking care of me that night. I was an ass to you that entire case.”</p><p>And maybe this was just because he was drunk but Jay blurted out the next part whole heartedly. “I wanted you to stay, of course. I only ever want you. But I understand why you didn’t. It’s okay Hailey really.” His hand grazed her knee.</p><p>She smiled softly, biting her lip. He only ever wanted her, her heart fluttered in her chest. The saying, Drunken words are sober thoughts, clicked in her brain. She reached over and gave Jay a quick hug, and as she started to pull away, he held her there for a second longer. </p><p>When they finally pulled away, Hailey gave him a once over, still seeing how out of it he was. After the heavy conversation they just had, one that took an entire year to address, about a night that changed so many things… Hailey just chuckled. Looking at her partner, she was still referring to him as so, his eyes were glossy and he had this youthful grin on his face. </p><p>“Well, consider this our re-do of this time last year. Looks like I am going to be taking care of you tonight”, Hailey grinned as Jay’s face smiled back bashfully, then suddenly took a turn.</p><p>Sure enough, Jay went back into the bathroom, the whiskey not agreeing with him at all. That continued well into the night, she sat up with him on the couch as he alternated between throwing up and having the giggles. She took turns feeding him potato chips and forcing water down his throat. Jay rarely let his guard down, but when he did he was actually pretty care-free and funny.</p><p>It was nearly 2 in the morning by the time Hailey thought he might have got it out of his system. He was going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning. </p><p>She made a bed for him on the couch, he was still pretty out to lunch. He likely wouldn’t even remember how he got here in the morning, or some of the things they talked about. She wasn’t even really sure how he got here. She rolled him on his side and put a garbage can next to him, in case he wasn’t finished throwing up. She thought about going back to bed but was worried he would choke on his own vomit in the night. So she pulled her blankets and pillows down from her room and made her own bed on the other couch, watching Jay for a while as he slept before her own eyes closed for good.</p><p>6:30 am.</p><p>Ouch. Jay thought as he slowly came to. Where am I? His eyes opened but he immediately shut them, the sun burning his eyes and making his head pound. It took him a second to orient himself, he was pretty sure he wasn’t in his own bed. His thoughts were confirmed when he heard Hailey’s voice. Oh no what did I do, he thought.</p><p>“You alright there Jay?” Hailey half-asked half-laughed from across her living room. He opened his eyes and saw that she had slept downstairs with him, suddenly the events of last night flooding his mind. Molly’s, Adam, telling Hailey he wanted her and throwing up. Lots of whiskey. Bad things. But through it all Hailey stayed. He remembered her taking care of him last night.</p><p>“Mmmm”, Jay groaned, covering his eyes with a blanket.</p><p>“I know you don’t want to hear this, but we have to go to work today”, Hailey told him.</p><p>“I know. Just let me wallow in self pity for a little longer”, Jay croaked.</p><p>Hailey laughed. “I figured you might say that. We have some time, so close your eyes. I’ll make you something to eat okay?” </p><p>Jay nodded, giving her a thumbs up. Today was not going to be a good day.</p><p>She let him sleep for another hour, and convinced him to jump in her shower to wake himself up. But mostly to wash the whiskey smell off of his body. </p><p>He came down the hallway in a towel, passing Rojas along the way. She must be extremely confused by this arrangement, but to her credit, didn’t really comment.</p><p>“Rough morning Detective?” She grinned. Jay smiled back, “Happens to the best of us.”</p><p>“I hear that”, Rojas replied, going downstairs for coffee. </p><p>Jay was silently praising the fact that he kept a bag with a spare change of clothes and other things in Hailey’s car. He laughed at her when she suggested they do that in each other’s vehicles. This was one of those times it came in handy.</p><p>Hailey made him some toast and a coffee, hoping that would bring him back to life.</p><p>“Thanks Hails”, Jay nodded, referring to the breakfast, amongst other things.</p><p>“That’s what partners are for”, she said before realizing her slip up. Vanessa smiled in their direction, understanding that whatever it was they had here was strong.</p><p>They spent a few minutes reviewing Jay’s night, the three of them laughing at his misfortune. </p><p>“You’re not in college anymore Jay”, Vanessa laughed.</p><p>“Hey I never went, maybe that life isn’t out of my system yet”, he chuckled.</p><p>They finished breakfast, Hailey handing Jay more Advil and water before they went out the door.</p><p>Once they arrived at the station, the three of them strolling in together caused a few raised eyebrows. Mostly by Platt, who knew by now what the nature of Hailey and Jay’s partnership was, even if they didn’t realize it yet themselves. She said nothing, which they were grateful for.</p><p>Adam and Kevin laughed at Jay and his use of sunglasses indoors the second they made it upstairs. </p><p>“Not a word”, Jay pointed at Adam and Kevin. </p><p>Everyone smirked, Rojas decided to add to the laughter, or so she thought.</p><p>“You know, when Hailey invited me to stay at her place, I did not think that Jay was part of the deal”, she smiled. </p><p>Adam, Kevin and Kim’s eyes went wide, covering their mouths. Knowing that this would not end well for the young officer. Jay didn’t really react, but he never did. Hailey, usually stoic, showed a flash of embarrassment and flushed cheeks, but composed herself.</p><p>She smirked and just gave Rojas a quiet glance and walked into the lunch room with Jay.</p><p>“Oh girl, you are in trouble”, Adam laughed.</p><p>“What? What did I do?” Rojas looked confused, she thought they were having a good time poking fun at Jay.</p><p>“Rojas, you remember the other day when I told you to never piss Platt off? That Voight might be our boss, but Platt controls the house?” Kevin asked.</p><p>“Uh huh”, she replied.</p><p>“Well another one of those things is never, and I mean never, ask Hailey and Jay about well, Hailey and Jay.” Kevin stated, Kim and Adam nodding in agreement behind him.</p><p>“You could have told me that! Are they together? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?” Now she was worried.</p><p>“Ahh, ahh ahh”, Kev said shaking his finger at her. “See that, that’s asking. We don’t do that here.”</p><p>“I’m so confused”, Rojas said.</p><p>Kim laughed and said, “So are we. But it’s just a thing. You’ll get used to it, we all have.”</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Infection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 4</p><p>“What’s up Jay?” Hailey answered her phone from her car.</p><p>“I have a lead on a lab assistant, she could be connected to Stuart. I want you to bump her up on your interview list, I’m sending you the address now”, Jay said in a rush.</p><p>“Got it, I’m on my way right now”, Hailey replied.</p><p>Hailey knew that something was off the second Veronica opened the door. What she didn’t expect was how fast things were going downhill. One minute she was about to question a potential lead in this case, the next minute she was exposed to the flesh eating bacteria herself, trying to calm her breathing as they raced to Med in the back of an ambulance.</p><p>“Hailey”… Will said wide eyed and in a tone that scared the detective.</p><p>She just stared at Will, nodding fearfully when she heard it was the same superbug and Will asked her if that was her blood on her.</p><p>“Okay Hailey. Did you get any in your mouth? Eyes? Any open cuts?” Will was trying to stay calm for his brother’s partner, but even he was rattled by this case.</p><p>“I don’t know, I don’t think so”, Hailey shook her head quietly.</p><p>“Don’t move alright? Don’t touch your eyes, your face. Don’t touch anything. Stay right here we’re going to take care of you”, Will told her as he ran to get help, dreading the phone call he was about to make.</p><p>All things considered, after taking a decontamination shower, Hailey was feeling surprisingly calm. That was until Dr. Manning hesitated over a small cut on her finger.</p><p>“What’s this from?” Natalie asked.</p><p>“Um. I don’t know…Must have bit a hang nail or something. Is that a problem?” Suddenly she felt her heart racing a mile a minute. </p><p>The hesitation in Natalie’s reply didn’t help either. “We’re going to test you and isolate you just to be sure.”</p><p>Hailey was herded into a quarantine area before she even had a chance to call Voight. Although she assumed Will would have informed him, or Jay at least by now. </p><p>Sure enough, as Hailey was waiting anxiously in the basement of the hospital in a make shift isolation unit, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Jay at her ‘door’.</p><p>He looked tired, and worn out and distraught. Not to mention guilty. Which Hailey knew he would be feeling, as ridiculous as it was. None of this was his fault even though she knew he would be shouldering the weight of this. Blaming himself for putting her in harm’s way.</p><p>He didn’t say anything to her at first, just stared at her, looking her up and down. His eyes red from sleep deprivation and nerves.</p><p>“How are you holding up?” Jay blurted out, even though judging by the looks of things, clearly not that well.</p><p>“I’m alright”, Hailey assured him.</p><p>He snapped out of it and gave her a glance that made her heart ache. All she wanted to do was reach out and tell him it was going to be okay, even though she wasn’t so sure of that herself right now.</p><p>“We have a few leads. Chasing them down now, but this is getting out of hand fast Hailey”, Jay whispered, trying to steer the conversation in a work direction to avoid talking about the enormous guilt and sadness he was feeling towards Hailey being in this situation because he put her there.</p><p>“That’s good. Keep me updated, let me know if I can do anything from here”, she said motioning around to the others she was quarantined with, all from the same apartment building.</p><p>“Sounds good. See you soon”, Jay replied, lingering before he left, just staring at Hailey through the screen. He bit his bottom lip, his eyes not reaching hers. But he brought his hand up ever so slightly, his fingers grazing the sheet. Hailey followed his lead, gently pressing a few fingers up on the other side, trying for whatever physical contact they could. He rarely had physical contact with Hailey, they usually kept it at a pretty safe distance. But right now, as he stood on the other side of the unknown, from his partner, his best friend, who potentially had a flesh eating bacteria... All he wanted to do was touch her.</p><p>Dr. Manning saw the exchange between her almost brother-in law and Hailey. Hailey pacing around her small space, looking a little down. </p><p>“Jay will be back for you”, she said quietly.</p><p>Hailey smirked, trying to hide the pained look in her eyes. “I know. He just feels guilty this happened to me I know it.”</p><p>“Jay is stubborn, he’ll come around”, Natalie replied. If she knew anything about Jay is that he was loyal and caring and protective of the people in his inner circle. As much as that exchange was a bit brief and cold, Natalie knew that underneath it all Jay was just scared. </p><p>Several hours went by, Hailey had befriended a girl in isolation and found it comforting to talk to her. Amanda, was her name. She found herself telling the young girl stories of her past, talking about life, doing everything she could to keep her calm. That was during the mass hysteria, and patients breaking out of isolation.</p><p>Dr. Manning came in shortly after, clearing Hailey of the bacteria, telling her she was free to go. Hailey exhaled a deep sigh of relief, but looking back at Amanda, she felt torn. </p><p>“You’re going to be okay, think good thoughts”, Hailey left her with one last encouragement.</p><p>Hailey raced back to the station as fast as she could, greeted with open arms from her unit. That took her by surprise just a little, considering the nature of her quarantine.</p><p>Atwater enveloped in a big hug first, Kim followed. It took a second but Hailey found Jay’s eyes in the crowd. His face showing a mixture of relief and maybe even joy. They shared a look for what felt like a minute, but in reality lasted only a few seconds. It was short and sweet, and more than enough for now.</p><p>It took every bone in his body to resist the urge to run across the bullpen and squeeze her as tight as he possibly could. But they couldn’t do that here, he had to show some restrain. Usually that was easy for him, but not today. </p><p>Hailey returned to Med shortly after she was back at work, only this time not as a patient. She was checking in on Amanda’s surgery when she got the notice of a Code Silver.</p><p>Jay and Voight rushed through the hospital, taking stairs two at a time trying to reach Will. He was in the lab with Dr. Selldon, their prime suspect. Jay couldn’t help but fear the worst when he turned the corner and saw Will lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. First his partner, now his brother? Not today, he couldn’t handle this today.</p><p>“Will?! Will, what happened are you alright?” Jay said sounding scared as he helped his brother off the floor. He took a quick survey of his head, gushing blood, but those injuries always do. He seemed to be okay aside from that.</p><p>“He cold clocked me”, Will said, trying to put pressure on his head.</p><p>Voight and Will’s doctor friend from the CDC came in at this point, trying to question Will about how long he was out.</p><p>“Not sure, maybe a few minutes. He could be anywhere”, Will replied, wincing, as his friend took over caring for his head wound.</p><p>“Are you going to be alright?” Jay yelled as he was half out the door. Time was of the essence.</p><p>“Ya, ya I’m good”, Will said reassuring his brother. </p><p>From that moment on, it was a wild goose chase in Chicago. Hailey and Jay were partnered up again, and ended up in a strange take down in a basement bomb shelter with Kelly and Joe from 51. At least them being back together provided some normalcy.</p><p>It was tense, the stand off with Selldon’s wife, but fortunately no one got hurt and they were able to bring her in for questioning.</p><p>Hailey tried to talk to Jay about what was happening so far, even bringing up her own experience in isolation, but Jay was having none of it. He was a bit distant with her, which was a complete 180 after trying to hold her hand through a quarantine wall just hours earlier. She tried not to take it personally, but it was hard. Jay was usually open and honest with her, but it’s like he put every wall they had torn down together right back up again between them. It made her feel strangely alone. </p><p>“Hey you wanna hit the University?” Jay asked Hailey from across their desks.</p><p>“You know what, I’m going to meet you there”, she replied after seeing she had a missed call from Natalie.</p><p>“Okay”, Jay said somewhat awkwardly, kicking himself on the inside. Why was he treating Hailey like this? </p><p>Hailey waited at the hospital, relieved after hearing good news about Amanda. Jay made his way downtown with Voight. Both a little stunned at how empty the usually crowded streets were, it was downright eerie.</p><p>Later that day, Kim and Adam made huge progress with the case. They had finally narrowed down Selldon’s motive, and his final target. They had to take him now if they were going to save the city, they were running out of time.</p><p>Kevin, Jay and Hailey approached BRT headquarters, but stopped dead in their tracks. Quite literally, as a woman fell from the 6th floor window. The trio looked at her body, then at each other, horrified.</p><p>“Go, I’ll stay with her”, Kevin yelled and Hailey and Jay took the lead on the inside. Hoping they weren’t too late.</p><p>Hailey and Jay stormed the office entry way, trying to keep the evacuating employees calm.</p><p>“I’m going upstairs, try to get everyone out the exits”, Jay announced to Hailey, giving her a look that reminded her too much of last year. His, “I’m going to save the day at any and all costs” look.</p><p>She did as she was told, evacuating the building in a timely manner, with Jay on her mind.</p><p>Jay raced up the stairs, trying to locate Selldon. He found him in a meeting room, holding a knife to an executives throat. </p><p>“Detective Halsted, Chicago PD”, he announced his presence, in hopes that Selldon wouldn’t do anything rash before the rest of the team arrived. </p><p>“5021 George, I got eyes on the offender, southeast corner of the 6th floor, he’s got hostages”, Jay quietly reported to dispatch.</p><p>“Dr. Selldon, I just want to come in and talk…Can I do that?” Jay tried to reach out one more time. Silence.</p><p>“It’s either me talking or a team of men shooting. Whatever you’re here to do, it’s better with me in there keeping them out”, Jay made a split second decision. And for the first time, he was doubting himself. This bacteria was no joke, he knew the huge risk he was taking. But someone had to do it.</p><p>“Okay, come in but slowly. And drop your weapon”, Selldon agreed.</p><p>Jay exhaled. “Okay, okay I’ll give you my gun”, he said as he quickly dialled Hailey’s cell, almost as a final good-bye if it came down to that. He took a deep breath, not waiting for her greeting. He had to tell her this and fast.</p><p>“Hailey, I’m going in, try to get Voight on the line. And get eyes on the roof”, Jay whispered, almost wishing he had time to let her reply. But that was it, he left his phone on in his vest pocket. As morbid as it was, if anything happened to him in here, at least she would hear his last words. He would spend his last seconds with her, close to his heart.</p><p>Hailey’s blood pressure spiked as she heard the sound of Jay unloading his weapon on speaker. She knew she couldn’t reply in fear Selldon would hear and shoot him on the spot. But this was Jay. She rushed back down to his truck, pulling his sniper rifle out of the back. She wasn’t sure how he would feel about this, this was from his days as a Ranger. He never let anyone touch this. He scolded her when she opened the case once, something he rarely did. But he told her to get on the roof so that’s what she assumed he meant. Joe Cruz told her he could get her up on the roof, so she followed him, saying a silent prayer the whole way that she would get there in time before Jay did something stupid.</p><p>“My brother’s inside?!” Will asked Voight nervously as he heard Jay’s voice on the other end of the phone.</p><p>“He is.”</p><p>“I’m coming with you”, Will dropped everything, and with the same mentality as Hailey, hoped his brother didn’t do anything stupid.</p><p>Joe pulled Hailey up through the roof hatch, she hurried into position. Letting out a few curse words when she didn’t have a clear shot.</p><p>“Jay no”, Hailey mouthed as she watched him take the knife from Selldon, aiming it at his own arm. </p><p>“Sarge, Halstead just cut himself. This is flipping, and I don’t have a shot”, she reported through their ear pieces, anxiety at an all time high, she didn’t even really care who heard her.</p><p>“I want you to fire a shot at the ceiling, but wait for my signal”, Voight calmly told her back, hearing her anxious tone and hearing what Jay was about to do on the other side of that door.</p><p>Jay was stalling as long as he could, he was having second thoughts, but had full faith in the team that it wouldn’t get to that point. Voight even heard his hesitation. His whole life suddenly flashed before his eyes. He had made it through so much, there was no way he was going out like this. But if he did, he had full comfort in knowing that he saw his brother today, talked to Mouse, and phoned Hailey. His top three. </p><p>He took one final breath before he heard the shots fired and stopped what he was doing, silently thanking Hailey. Voight and the rest of the team stormed in, Voight killing Selldon himself. Jay let out a sigh of relief, his hands shaking at how close of a call that was. Will pronounced Selldon and looked at Jay, dumbfounded that he was going to do that. “You good?” Will asked.</p><p>“Ya, I’m okay.”</p><p>Jay immediately stepped in front of the open window, squinting, unable to make Hailey out, but knew she was there. He waved to her a few rooftops away, showing her that he was fine, before turning back to the situation in front of him.</p><p>“Let me see your arm”, Will said sternly, but Jay brushed him off. There were people in that boardroom who needed Will’s help more than he did. </p><p>“It’s fine, not that deep. I’ll clean it up myself”, Jay told him stubbornly.</p><p>“Alright, but I’m going to give you a shot of antibiotics just to be safe.”<br/>Jay agreed quickly, he wanted nothing more than to just go home and scrub every inch of his body after the last few days he’s had.</p><p>After the adrenaline had worn off and the dust settled, the team was back at the district, filling out what seemed like every report known to man about this case. When it was finally time to go home, Rojas walked out with Kevin and Trudy. Kim and Adam left together, Voight was in his office talking on the phone to headquarters, and Hailey and Jay were left at the station. Hailey had been working on finishing something when she saw Jay sneak down to the locker room. </p><p>She heard him before she saw him, fiddling with tape and the clanking of the first aid kit. She rounded the corner quietly, watching him for a few seconds before alerting him that she was there.</p><p>“You’d think you’d know how to do this at this stage in your life”, she joked.</p><p>Jay smirked. First aid on himself was a different story. He wasn’t exactly a great patient.</p><p>“Here, let me do that”, Hailey said softly as she took the gauze from his hand and set it back on the bench. He agreed, albeit reluctantly. She sat down next to him and poured out some hydrogen peroxide onto a cloth. She paused before doing it, knowing this was going to sting, a lot.</p><p>“I know, just do it”, Jay said reading her mind.</p><p>She tried to clean out his cut as quickly as possible, but felt him tense up and his face scrunch up into a wince, his jaw clenched together. She wasn’t going to take any chances though, especially since what may have been on the knife. He was distracted by the sting in his forearm, but suddenly came back to reality when he felt Hailey’s other hand steadying his arm. Her cold grip a reminder that she was there, and that things were going to be okay.</p><p>He also smirked when her instinct to his pain was to blow on his cut. Something out of elementary school. But it was full proof, it always worked and made it feel better.</p><p>“My sniper rifle looked good on you today”, Jay said breaking the silence between them. </p><p>Hailey’s dimples made an appearance. She raised her eyebrows in his direction. “I was waiting for you to bring that up. Hoping you aren’t too mad that I touched it.”</p><p>Jay rolled his eyes playfully, “I think this was an extenuating circumstance. One time deal.” She smiled and shifted her focus back to his arm, that was resting on her thigh.</p><p>She quietly covered his wound with gauze, wrapping it and making sure it was secure in place. They were both unusually silent, walking on egg shells still with each other. </p><p>She smiled at him when she was all finished, weirdly emotional about doing this for him today. The simplicity of it gave her time to reflect on the day and all of the ways in which things could have gone really wrong. He was giving her the space to be silent, and watched her as she took care of him once again. In a different way than she normally did, a more physical one.</p><p>“Thanks Hailey”, he said softly. Her gentle touch reminding him of all he could have lost today.</p><p>She looked up and smiled at him in return, getting up to leave. She didn’t get the vibe they would be doing their thing tonight. But as she left the locker room, she swore she heard a small, “I’m sorry” come from behind her. </p><p>A few hours later, Hailey was making herself a stir fry, and enjoying a glass of wine in her kitchen. Rojas was out for drinks with Kevin. She had invited her along but truth be told, Hailey just wanted to be alone. That was until she heard the knock at her door.</p><p>Her gut told her who was on the other side, but wasn’t fully sure until she saw his face. His usual demeanour was absent, and replaced by a nervous front. For reasons that she couldn’t exactly pin point. </p><p>“Hey-“, she started but was cut off by Jay springing forward, lunging for her, and pulling her into the tightest hug imaginable.</p><p>He held her there, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck. At first she didn’t reciprocate as heartily because she was caught off guard, but as soon as she felt the tickle of his facial hair it was game over. She reached her arms around him. One of them around his back, her other hand found it’s resting place on the back of his head, stroking his hair with her thumb. She inhaled and exhaled in sync with Jay, finding each other’s rhythm. </p><p>They stayed like that for a few minutes in silence, this not needing any words for the time being. Jay was enjoying the feeling of her body shiver when he ran his hands up and down her back. He would never take touching her for granted ever again. Finally, she pulled back and looked up into his eyes. The look on her face made it so hard for Jay to resist risking it all right then and there and leaning down to kiss her.</p><p>“I’m making stir fry for dinner you hungry?” She asked suddenly, trying to bring some normalcy back to their relationship, it had been certainly lacking that today.</p><p>He almost laughed, that was what she followed that hug up with. “Of course”, Jay replied, following her back into the kitchen. He had been out and had a few drinks already with Will, which made him feel more relaxed. He still felt tense around Hailey, like he needed to apologize for what happened to her.</p><p>He sat on her barstool as she poured him a glass of wine and fixed him a plate for dinner before joining him. Hailey was guarded at work, but at home she was a different person, more relaxed and content. She loved cooking, and reading and having baths. What people knew about her at work barely scratched the surface. Jay was grateful she let him in. </p><p>She came over to the other side of the island to join him shortly after cleaning up, looking him over. He seemed nervous. But his cheeks were rosy so she couldn’t help but think the worst.</p><p>“Jay you look flushed…are you feeling okay?” She asked out of the blue.</p><p>He looked at her and was about to reply before he felt the back of her hand gently checking his forehead for a fever. That caught him off guard, Hailey wasn’t usually the touchy feely type. The gesture was small, but it implied a lot. She usually just let him suffer when he was sick, not wanting to rock the boat as he was usually unpleasant when he was under the weather. </p><p>“I’m alright. It’s just the wine”, he grinned, his fair skin was against him when it came to red wine. Rosy cheeks always won out. </p><p>Her face relaxed a bit, showing a hint of embarrassment of her own over-reaction and rare physical contact. </p><p>“Good, just checking. You know, since your arm…want to make sure it’s not infected”, she paused on the last word, her day replaying in her head all over again.</p><p>He cleared his throat, pausing before starting his meal. </p><p>“Hailey. I’m really sorry about today”, he blurted out.</p><p>She glanced over at him, almost laughing at how nervous he was. Expecting that she was mad at him for the quarantine thing. When she wasn’t, not even a little bit. </p><p>“For what Jay. There’s no way you would have known that was going to happen.”</p><p>“Still. I put you in serious danger. Hailey…If anything happened to you I would never forgive myself…”, he shook his head, playing with the food on his plate.</p><p>Then he felt her hand on his back.</p><p>“Jay, look at me”, she said sternly.</p><p>He looked up and made eye contact with her, ashamed at his lack of being there for her today when she needed him.</p><p>“You were doing your job. I was doing mine. Sometimes things are out of our control. But what is in our control is how we move forward. I don’t want you to feel guilty, I’m okay. You don’t need to walk on eggshells around me”, she flashed a small hint of a smile.</p><p>He nodded and let out a deep breath, gently placing his hand on her knee, causing her to jolt. He quickly pulled away.</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>“That’s okay”, Hailey said, allowing him to put it back, taking a second before saying her piece.</p><p>“I was worried about you today too you know”, she said looking down at his arm.</p><p>His turn to smirk, “It got a little close. But I knew you had my back, even from a few buildings away.” She grinned back at him, alright enough of the sappiness, she thought.</p><p>“See, we’re alright. Now let’s eat before our dinner gets cold”, Hailey said, relieved they got that talk out of the way. It was lingering all day.</p><p>They ate and drank wine and joked around before moving to the couch to watch a movie. This was becoming more of a habit than ever, but one that neither of them had any complaints about. It was comfortable more than anything. They didn’t need to verbalize it, or their feelings, or whatever they thought was going on here. Not yet anyways.</p><p>So much so, that when Rojas stumbled in past midnight she was surprised to see the glow of the TV still on and even more surprised to see the reflection of her two colleagues in it. </p><p>Both were fast asleep, Jay lying more upright with his legs up on the corner end of her sectional. Hailey was sprawled out horizontally, tucked under Jay’s protective arm over her shoulder, her head resting against his chest. Rojas took a minute to survey the situation, trying not to make a peep. Little did she know Kevin had waited for her to get inside and must have stopped when he didn’t see her move upstairs. He smiled outside himself. Rojas caught Hailey and Jay red-handed, that didn’t take long at all. </p><p>Rojas tip toed into the living room and covered each of them with a blanket, not surprised by the lack of stirring after eyeing an empty bottle of red wine on the coffee table. She turned the TV off last and went upstairs, beginning to understand what Kevin, Adam and Kim meant the other day about Hailey and Jay. </p><p>They came together and had each other’s backs when it mattered most, even if that meant ending their days like this, in romantic limbo.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Our thing...for Will</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 5</p><p>Rojas made her way downstairs silently the next morning, unsure what she would find. Judging by the made bed in Hailey’s room, it didn’t seem like her or Jay slept in there last night. They must be on the couch still.</p><p>She turned the corner and sure enough there they were, both still out like lights. She was surprised that they weren’t up yet, it was nearly 7:30 in the morning. What did surprise her most though was Halstead. He had moved from his position on his back, to facing slightly more towards Hailey. He wasn’t fully turned over because her head was still resting on his chest, but it was an obvious change. It seemed like he wanted to get as close to her as possible. His arm was still clutching her for dear life, and Hailey’s body had melted more into his. The most telling thing of all might have been how their hands came to join in the middle. Not a complete hand hold, but a few of Jay’s fingers and a few of Hailey’s seemed to be intertwined, something they must have done in their sleep to reach out to find each other. </p><p>Rojas didn’t know much about Jay, or Hailey really at this point, but she did know it was best to avoid waking a sleeping soldier. It had also been a hell of a few days. Not lost on her was the fact that Hailey was nearly infected with that crazy bacteria. Maybe that’s why Jay wanted her so close to him. She was trying to figure out their relationship with each other, but she was coming up blank. So, she went back into the kitchen to make a coffee, leaving the two detectives to get the rest they so clearly needed.</p><p>Jay woke up first. He blinked a few times, trying to orient himself. He looked around, realizing it was morning and that he was still on Hailey’s couch. Wait a second, so was she, he smiled. He looked down at Hailey’s tiny frame snuggled up against his, her head rising up and down on his chest as he was breathing. Her fingers lingered with his, and there were blankets. Oh no, Rojas. She must have done this. They had wine last night, but not enough that he didn’t remember what happened. They were watching a movie, talking through their day and enjoying each other’s company. Next thing he knew, they must have passed out. He wondered if Hailey wasn’t going to like the fact that they did this. He felt her wiggle around and stretch out as she woke up next to him. He was about to find out. </p><p>Hailey did the same thing, looked around, was confused for a second, even though she was in her own home. She looked up at Jay and smiled. </p><p>“Oops”, she said with a silly grin on her face. </p><p>Jay laughed, good she wasn’t going to be awkward. </p><p>“Oops is right. Red wine always does the trick”, he replied.<br/>Hailey nodded, even though she knew they didn’t really have that much to drink. But she was glad Jay stayed here last night. Even more glad that he seemed to pull her in to snuggle as she slept. Falling asleep on his chest was perfect.</p><p>“Well, we better get up it’s 7:30!” Hailey exclaimed, surprised that Jay of all people slept in so late.</p><p>“Wait what?! There’s no way it’s 7:30”, Jay was confused as he looked at the time. He hasn’t slept in this long in probably a decade.</p><p>“You must have really needed the sleep Jay”, Hailey said, enjoying how 7:30 was a late wake up for him.</p><p>“Ya I guess so. I actually did sleep really good. I haven’t slept through the night in years”, he accidentally let that slip out.</p><p>Hailey caught the slip up, giving him a quick glance. But she didn’t push further. That was concerning to her of course, that he has that much trouble sleeping. For reasons beyond her comprehension she was sure of that. </p><p>“That’s good Jay. I’m glad you got some rest. You needed it, you were exhausted. We both were”, she gave him a soft smile. </p><p>Jay noticed she didn’t exactly peel herself off of him just yet, maybe she was still waking up. Or maybe she was secretly like him, trying to savour this moment before they had to go back to their real life situation. </p><p>On that note, Rojas walked into the living room since she heard voices.</p><p>“Well good morning sleepyheads”, she replied. </p><p>Jay and Hailey looked flustered for just a second, but decided to roll with it. It was obvious that Rojas had seen them, the blankets came from somewhere. There was no denying it at this stage in the game. </p><p>“Morning Vanessa”, they both replied. </p><p>“Coffee’s on if you guys want it”, she smiled and gave them some privacy. Jay made the first move, gently lifting himself up off the couch and from under Hailey. He came back a few minutes later with coffee for them. They enjoyed a coffee on the couch together, what would be the last of their quiet for the day.</p><p>Arriving at the district together raised some eyebrows once again. But considering the flesh eating bacteria circumstance, the team realized that Jay and Hailey cared deeply for one another. They needed time to figure that out between them, it had been a stressful few days for the partners.<br/>“How’s your arm Jay?” Kim asked.</p><p>“All good Kim, thanks”, Jay smiled as he watched Hailey glance at his forearm. She was always checking on him, and made sure to clean his cut again before they left her place this morning.</p><p>The rest of the day flew by. The unit caught a robbery homicide case at a local restaurant. Adam caused a massive beef with patrol, which put them all in a bit of a sticky situation during a shootout in the afternoon.</p><p>Jay, Hailey, Adam and Kevin were trying to take down a suspect in the murder of the man at the restaurant, but he got away because they had no back up.</p><p>“What the hell was that! Where was patrol?” Hailey spat angrily. </p><p>“I don’t know. I thought I had it handled, but I guess not. I’m really sorry guys. I’m going to fix this”, Adam replied.</p><p>“Ya man, you better. That can’t happen again”, Jay said as he was referring to the four of them getting shot at with no help. </p><p>“Don’t worry, we’ll sort this out”, Atwater whispered to Jay and Hailey, who felt a little bad about blowing up at Adam. But also not, they had a close call.</p><p>As it turns out, Adam did handle the situation later that night with Voight. He was a little banged up afterwards, but nothing some ice and TLC couldn’t fix. He strolled into work the next morning sporting a black eye and some bloody knuckles.</p><p>Jay, Hailey and Kev all raised their eyebrows at him then looked around at each other, not really knowing what to do about this situation. Kim did the same, only rolled her eyes, shook her head and marched into the kitchen.</p><p>She came back a minute later with an ice pack in her hand and walked straight towards Adam’s desk. He was sitting down already, not acknowledging the elephant in the room that was the bruising and swelling of his face. His head was already pounding enough.</p><p>Kim sat down next to him and rolled his chair, turning it towards her. Adam looked a bit ashamed and winced when he thought Kim was going to yell at him. It didn’t take her long to piece together what he had done. Platt alluded to it this morning and she had heard some rumours from patrol before their shift started.</p><p>“Let me see”, Kim whispered as she gently lifted his chin with her fingers. Adam looked into her eyes, trying to give her a smile, but it hurt to move his face like that. </p><p>She rested the ice pack against his eye, holding it in place for him. His hands settled on Kim’s knee. <br/>Hailey noticed this interaction and it made her heart flutter. “They’re on their way back”, she whispered quietly to Jay. He wasn’t sure how he should respond to that, based on Hailey’s recent history with Adam over the last year. But she seemed happy about this revelation, so he was too. </p><p>“Oh ya, they’ve definitely slept together again”, Jay laughed as Hailey hit his arm playfully.</p><p>“I was referring more to the way she was looking after him. His face…poor thing”, she said.</p><p>“I know. That looks sore, but he can handle it”, Jay said as he grabbed the bottle of Tylenol he keeps in his desk and walked over to give it to Kim and Adam. He put a hand on Adam’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He had heard about the patrol rumours too.</p><p>That made Adam feel good. Like his team accepted him back in again. </p><p>Once their day was over, Jay left separate from Hailey. Although he naturally followed her to their vehicles, and was confused for a second when she didn’t get in his truck.</p><p>“We can’t spend every night together Jay. We don’t live together”, Hailey joked.</p><p>“Right, right.” Jay laughed. “Night ladies”, he said to Hailey and Vanessa.</p><p>“Night Jay.”</p><p>Hailey’s phone was ringing off the hook a few hours later. She had a nice night at the gym, came home to shower and made dinner with Vanessa. She was in the middle of dinner when she finally glanced down at her phone. Her last text was from Jay.</p><p>Up to do our thing? Only instead of me needing to talk, it’s for Will?</p><p>Hailey was confused by this offer but replied anyways. “Sure. Is Will okay?” She felt a bit nervous for his response, he didn’t usually include her on time with Will. </p><p>“Physically yes, mentally no… “ That text told her all she needed. </p><p>I’m on my way, she replied.</p><p>She showed up at his door twenty minutes later, leaving her house in a hurry.</p><p>“Hey”, Jay whispered as he opened the door. Hailey looked around, saw Will sitting curled up in a ball on the couch, and realized the problem pretty quickly.</p><p>“All I managed to get out of him was that he lost a patient today… Not that it’s easy, but it happens often enough to him… I think. Not sure what it is about this one, but he’s taking it hard. Sorry, I tried talking to him but he put his walls up. I’m just worried, this isn’t like him. I didn’t know what to do. You always help me with mine…” Jay was rambling about his own walls until Hailey put a hand on his back. </p><p>“It’s alright Jay. Relax, deep breath.” He did as she said. “I’ll go talk to him.”</p><p>Hailey approached cautiously. She had a good relationship with Will. Will knew how close she was with his brother, even confiding in her at one point that Hailey did what no one else could with Jay. Get through to him, get him to open up, help him, love him when he needed to be shown love. That was something she thought about often. It wasn’t the fact that Will used the term love, more so how he said it. “Loved him when he needed it.” It made her feel like there was a time when someone should have been taking care of him or paying closer attention to him and they weren’t. </p><p>Hailey sat down next to Will, noticing his body language and posture. “Hey Will”, she said quietly. He seemed surprised that she was there, he must not have heard her come in. </p><p>He raised his head from resting against his forearms. It was obvious that he had been crying, which made her feel for him.</p><p>“Hey Hailey”, he replied back weakly, before bringing his hands up to his face to shield them. </p><p>“What’s going on Will? Not feeling good?” She probed, as she put a hand on his back. Unlike his brother, Will did not flinch when she did that or brush it off. He wasn’t someone who backed away from touch like Jay. Although deep down, she always knew Jay liked touch, he just had a hard time allowing it from other’s for whatever reason, a trust thing.</p><p>Will just shook his head no. Hailey looked up at Jay with a sad look.</p><p>“Well whatever it is Will, you can talk to us”, she motioned for Jay to sit on the other side of him. Jay agreed reluctantly, this wasn’t really his strong suit. Talking about feelings, especially with his brother. But the compassion Hailey was showing Will made it easier. Then magically, Will opened the flood gates.</p><p>“A patient died of a pulmonary embolism today. Young, otherwise healthy guy. He just got engaged. He kept asking me to get a hold of his fiancé who was out dress shopping…” he paused for a second. Hailey put her hand back on his back, gently consoling him.</p><p>“I didn’t get a hold of her. Didn’t even try because I forgot, I was too busy. I got distracted…”, Will’s voice cracked. </p><p>“I’m sorry Will, that’s really hard”, Hailey replied. </p><p>“This guys last words were “Did you call my fiancé” and I couldn’t even give him that. What kind of doctor, person, does that make me?”, the pain in his voice was evident. He was on the verge of losing it, Hailey could see it on his face. Then Jay did something to reel him back in.</p><p>“I’m going to tell you what Hailey told me once. The point of the job is to do the best that you can. Sometimes things don’t work out. It’s the nature of your job, our jobs. It happens and it really sucks, there’s no other way of saying it. You can carry that, but you can’t let it carry you. You’re a great doctor Will, don’t forget that. I’m proud of you”, Jay turned and put his hand on his brother’s back too. Will was a bit surprised by Jay’s words, Hailey being here must be a good influence on him.</p><p>Will nodded his head, allowing a few tears to fall. Jay and Hailey held him there until he was ready to get up. Sometimes you just needed to cry it out, they both knew that, although they never did it together. </p><p>Will collected himself after a few minutes and took a deep breath. </p><p>“Thanks guys”, he smiled, squeezed Hailey’s knee and gave Jay’s shoulder a squeeze.</p><p>“Of course Will, we’re here for you”, Hailey replied.</p><p>“I know you are. I just needed to get that out.”</p><p>“We know, we do it too”, Jay said casually.</p><p>“Usually just with each other though”, Will smiled slyly. </p><p>That made Hailey and Jay laugh. “Yes usually just with each other. Welcome to your first thing Will”, Hailey chuckled.</p><p>The air felt lighter, Jay was glad he called Hailey. He didn’t know what he would do without her sometimes.</p><p>“I brought some dinner leftovers….I made moussaka, you hungry Will?” Hailey broke the silence. </p><p>“I could eat”, Will smiled and nodded slowly. If his memory served him correctly Hailey was a great cook. Jay always went on and on about it. </p><p>Jay practically jumped off the couch when Hailey said that, to beat Will to it. Hailey laughed.</p><p>“Relax, I brought enough for you too Jay”, she said as he turned back and smirked. </p><p>“I figured the two of you would maybe enjoy some home cooking for once. Not your usual microwave dinners or take out”, Hailey teased.</p><p>“You thought correctly”, Jay said as he scooped a few slices from the container she brought.</p><p>They all sat together watching the Blackhawks game, ate dinner and had some bourbon. Hailey called it a night and said her good-byes to the brothers. Jay walked her to the door, smiling as she passed through the door frame.</p><p>“Thank you Hails, really. I didn’t know what to do with him.”</p><p>“Of course Jay. He’s your brother, that means he’s important to me too. Sometimes you just need someone to listen.” </p><p>Jay made sure she got out okay and went back into his apartment to find Will on the couch, in better spirits than he was earlier. He wasn’t sure if he was going to bring anything up again, but Jay took Hailey’s comments to heart and would listen if he did. </p><p>“Hailey is the best. You’re lucky Jay, so lucky,” Will said genuinely, seeing for the first time a different side of his brother. One that allowed himself to rely on someone else, not his usual go at it alone attitude, and also took their advice, a softer side really. </p><p>Jay smirked, not totally biting at what Will was implying, but gave him a little credit, he was right about one thing.</p><p>“She’s one in a million Will.”</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. He needs you right now Hailey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 6 </p><p>Jay could feel it. That feeling in his chest that he had pushed away for so many years, the one that hadn’t made an appearance in a while, but was threatening to bubble to the surface. As soon as he turned the corner and saw those boys shot dead on the couch…he thought he was going to lose his lunch. It brought back some bad memories. But, he had to react quickly and get the other boy hiding in the bathroom to safety. Once he was outside and the rest of the unit arrived, he allowed himself to let his guard down for just a minute, tearing up while explaining to the team what he saw inside that house.</p><p>He could feel her eyes on him, everyone’s eyes really. They knew as well as he did that cases like this greatly affected him. They also knew that he never showed emotion, or rarely did. So the fact that he was allowing himself to get choked up in front of them, in front of Voight, said a lot. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Hailey throughout his debrief or he knew he was going to lose it. It was no coincidence that she was the one to stand beside him once they crowded around, she stuck close by in case he needed her, it was subtle- but he appreciated that. </p><p>Her baseball cap was covering most of her face, but he knew what was underneath. Concern, compassion. Her eyes held as many secrets as his did. Jay took a few deep breaths and composed himself. Voight called out for Jay to follow him back to the scene to go over things. Before crossing the yellow tape again, Jay momentarily looked back at Hailey, their eyes connecting on a deep level. Hailey wanted to reach out and hold him, give him a hug, rub his back, but she didn’t. She couldn’t, not here anyways. Her heart ached for him, and it took everything in her power not to console him right then and there. But she knew he wouldn’t want that right now, they would figure that out later. He looked back at her as he was walking away, like he needed her- the moment was brief, but it was telling. </p><p>He looked at her and she got it. </p><p>Back at the district, the team was working hard to ID any potential suspects in this brutal crime. Thanks to a new facial recognition software, they managed to get a name- Marcus West. Jay was so hopped up on adrenaline that he immediately went to his car, he was ready to get the guy that did this to those young boys. </p><p>Jay ran upstairs to find Marcus fleeing out of a second storey window. Kim and Kev were close behind him, with Adam and Hailey outside. Jay didn’t hesitate and ran out the window onto the roof of Marcus’ house too. He also wasn’t thinking when he saw Marcus jump off the roof onto the ground below, Jay instinctively did the same.</p><p>Hailey and Adam were watching all of this unfold, running to try and intercept Marcus on the ground. </p><p>“Shit, Halstead just jumped off the roof!” Adam yelled to Hailey who was busy trying to radio in to dispatch what they were watching unfold in front of them.</p><p>“Is he alright?!” Hailey questioned while trying to search for Jay with her own eyes.</p><p>Adam was a few strides in front of her, trees and fences partially blocking their view of the yard.</p><p>“Looks like he landed on his feet”, Adam replied as they met up with Jay and West. Just in time to see Jay take down the suspect in the middle of the road.</p><p>Hailey let out a sigh of relief. What an idiot, she thought. Jay jumping off the roof like that. She swore he thought he was invincible sometimes.</p><p>She stood behind him, watched him put cuffs on Marcus in a not so gentle way. Adam helped Jay pull West off the ground and get him into the back of a patrol car.</p><p>“You alright man? You hurt?” Adam questioned Jay, looking him over, once West was in patrol’s custody.</p><p>Jay’s adrenaline was high. It didn’t exactly feel great jumping off the roof and doing a somersault landing on the rough lawn, he’d feel that later. But after a quick survey, he didn’t think anything major was wrong.</p><p>“I’m okay”, he replied, a little out of breath. Hailey came up from behind him, checking the same as Adam. </p><p>She gently put a hand on his back, which startled him. Adam noticed him jump too. Hailey quickly pulled her hand away.</p><p>“I’m fine Hailey, really”, he said kind of coldly before turning away. Hailey didn’t say anything as she watched him walk away, Adam hesitated before jumping in. He knew this was Jay’s defence mechanism too.</p><p>“He’s not really okay, is he?” Adam questioned, fishing. Hailey knew Jay better than anyone, they all knew that she was the only one he let himself get vulnerable with. If he was upset, she would get through to him at some point. Hailey raised her eyebrow and shook her head slightly at that. </p><p>“I would say not. But you know how he is”, she allowed herself to admit that. Although her and Adam were no longer together, they were still close, and she trusted him. </p><p>“Just give him some time. He’ll come around”, Adam told her before putting an arm on her shoulder, sensing how worried Hailey was about Jay. </p><p>From a distance, Jay watched Hailey and Adam, kicking himself. He was short with Hailey, when he knew she was just worried about him. Once again, Adam was there for her when it should have been him. His emotions were bubbling to the surface again, he took a deep breath and pushed them back down. </p><p>The case took an unfortunate turn once they realized they had the wrong guy. It was too late though. Platt came up the stairs to notify them that Marcus West didn’t make it after getting jumped at county jail. His head injuries were too severe. Jay was crushed. And angry, furious really. </p><p>“Damn it!!” He yelled and slammed his hand against his desk. That startled everyone, even Platt. Hailey watched him from afar, becoming increasingly concerned about him the deeper they got into this case. Jay never had outbursts like this, but this case felt personal to him. Especially since he was so adamant that it was West. What if he had taken the time to do some more investigating? There were some obvious signs that he had missed that this was an inside job. Voight shared his same fury and marched his way into Crawford’s office. Their meeting was less than friendly, Crawford ending it by essentially telling Voight someone was going to pay for this mistake. That someone was looking more and more like Jay.</p><p>“Like hell he is”, Voight replied snarkily, knowing full well this mistake was not on Jay. </p><p>“You told us this software was full proof. Yet, your engineer just told us that they’re still working out bugs. That they’re having trouble with it specifically around recognizing African American faces, dark skin especially. Like hell Halstead is going to pay for this, it’s going to be you Crawford mark my words.” Voight stormed out of the office and made his way back to the district. He had a plan and was going to do what needed to be done.</p><p>Setting up Prophet and stealing evidence seemed to be easier than the team had thought. It wasn’t long before the real truth came out and Voight handled things like he said he would. </p><p>Jay got called to a scene the next day, realizing how Voight handled the situation. He walked into his office later than night and closed the door, sitting down and just coming straight out and asking him.</p><p>“Did you do what I think you did”, Jay asked. Voight could see the pain on the young detective’s face. He reached into his bottom drawer, pulled out his finest scotch and two glasses, passing one to Jay.</p><p>“Jay, for once in your life. Just let it be”, Voight said as he clinked his glass. He knew this case had been hard on him, and he didn’t really know what else to say. Halstead sat there in silence, tears in his eyes again, finished his drink and left for the night. Voight contemplated what he was about to do next. He didn’t like getting involved in things like this, but he knew Jay needed something, rather someone, in particular to help him through this.</p><p>Hailey had just sat down on the couch to watch a movie when she heard her phone ring. Her stomach fluttered, deep down hoping it would be Jay. She didn’t really have a chance to talk to him much today. She knew he was really upset about how all of this went down, understandably so. He blamed himself for Marcus’ death, and seeing those two boys were haunting him she had no doubt about it. How he reacted to her today also made her slightly mad, even though she knew it was just his usual pushing people away act. She saw Kim go up to him after he jumped off the roof to check on him, he seemed to let her be worried about him. Not brushing Kim off like he did to her, that irked her a little bit. Not because it was Kim, just because Jay wasn’t letting her in. Her worried thoughts about her partner stopped as soon as she saw the name flash across her called ID, Voight. Great another case, just as I was about to relax, she thought. </p><p>“Hey Sarge”, she answered.  </p><p>“Upton”, Voight returned the greeting. He was silent for a few seconds so Hailey wasn’t really sure what the nature of the call was.</p><p>“Do we have a case? Where do you want me”, she decided to take lead of the conversation.</p><p>“No, it’s not that. It’s about Halstead.”</p><p>“Oh. Okay….did something happen? Is he alright?” She suddenly felt nervous.</p><p>“He needs you right now Hailey, even if he doesn’t want to admit it”, Voight blurted out suddenly. His bluntness surprised Hailey, she didn’t really know how to respond to that.</p><p>“And before you say anything, yes I know you two are close. No, I do not want or need to know any further details. Just do whatever it is you normally do to get through to him, support him. It’s been a rough day.”</p><p>“Copy that Sarge”, Hailey was smiling on the other end of the phone. </p><p>“I will deny this conversation ever took place”, Voight replied and hung up the phone. Hailey laughed out loud afterwards, that was weird. But cute, coming from Voight of all people. She knew he had a secret soft spot for Jay, even if he didn’t always show it.</p><p>Hailey quickly got dressed, packed a bag just in case, grabbed her best tequila and told Rojas she was going out. She didn’t say where, but had a feeling Rojas knew anyways.</p><p>“See you tomorrow Hailey”, she replied with a smirk, Hailey rolled her eyes and left out the front door.</p><p>Hailey got to Jay’s apartment and took the elevator up to his floor, suddenly feeling a bit nervous about showing up unannounced. Jay didn’t really like surprises, but she knew he was home because he truck was parked out front. She inhaled and knocked on his door.</p><p>She was standing there for about 30 seconds before she heard the click of the lock and the slow creak of the door being opened from the inside.</p><p>She stared at him, not saying anything at first. Just looking at him. He looked sad, his eyes were red and puffy as if he had been crying recently. </p><p>He didn’t say anything either, just opened the door further, an open invitation for her to come inside. She was thankful for that at least, that he wanted her here.</p><p>She set her stuff down at the doorway and took her jacket off. She was watching Jay hobble back to the couch, noticing him limping a bit, moving a little slower than normal.</p><p>“Which ankle?” She tested him.</p><p>He turned around and scowled at her ever so slightly, before gingerly leaning back into the couch. She rolled her eyes and went into the freezer to dig out an ice pack, wrapping it in a dish towel before heading back to his living room.</p><p>She sat on the coffee table in front of him on the couch, he was still avoiding her eye contact. She decided that she was just going to sit there quietly until he acknowledged her. It took a few minutes but he gave in.</p><p>“The left one”, he said quietly. Hailey nodded and got up off the table. </p><p>She motioned for Jay to swivel on the couch so that his legs were horizontal. He did so reluctantly, knowing where this was heading. She helped him get comfortable, seeing that he was sore from his roof antics earlier. She gently lifted his left leg and slid underneath so that she was facing him on the couch. She grabbed a pillow and lowered his leg onto her lap. She peeled down his sock slowly, revealing the damage, watching him wince.</p><p>“This is pretty swollen Jay, how are you feeling?” She asked as she held the ice pack against his ankle.</p><p>“It feels like I jumped off a roof”, he gave her a small smirk. At least his sense of humour was still intact.</p><p>Hailey chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”</p><p>“Hailey…about earlier…”, Jay started.</p><p>“You don’t need to say anything, we’re good.” She looked him in the eye, seeing he was still on the verge of tears. </p><p>He bit his lip to hold back his emotions and nodded in her direction. She rubbed the side of the leg to show him it was okay. That it was okay to be upset, that he was going to be okay, and most importantly that they were okay. </p><p>Despite how stubborn Jay normally was, he let her take care of him. It was obvious to just about everyone that he needed some TLC after today. Even Voight knew that. He let himself be vulnerable in front of her, letting a few tears spill out. She didn’t say anything, just continued to comfort him by rubbing his calf, and tending to his sore ankle. After they sat on the couch in silence for almost 20 minutes, Hailey got up to put the ice back in the freezer. She expected Jay to have moved by the time she came back but he was still lying the way she left him. </p><p>“My back is also killing me. Can you grab me a few muscle relaxants from the bathroom? Will came by earlier”, he asked her sheepishly. </p><p>“Of course”, she turned towards the bathroom. It felt a bit foreign going through his medicine cabinet but she did what she had to and came back out a few minutes later. She put the kettle on to make him a hot water bottle and filled up a glass of water.</p><p>She brought the hot water bottle to him and put her hand on his back to slide him forward so that she could place it behind him. He quickly resisted, “I can do that”, he attempted to say before yelping as he moved too fast.</p><p>“Jay, you jumped off a roof today. It’s okay to admit that you’re a little sore.” She thought she saw him blush a little. </p><p>After the hot water bottle was tucked behind his back she saw him relax a bit. Then something came over her and she stood behind him, placing both her hands on his shoulders, and started to give him a massage. He tensed up quickly again. </p><p>“Relax Jay”, she told him. He did as he was told eventually, not wanting to admit how good this actually felt. For being so small herself, she had magic hands. Hailey made sure she was gentle, but seemed to know where all his knots were, where he was carrying all of his tension. They were quiet, unusually so, as this went down. Both of them realizing what was happening. All it would take would be her giving the green light and that would be it. But Jay knew she wasn’t ready for that yet so he didn’t say anything. </p><p>She sat back down after a while like nothing happened. Jay took the muscle relaxants and sat back on the couch, making room for Hailey to join him. </p><p>“Were you a massage therapist in your past life?” Jay joked, trying to lighten the increasingly romantic mood between them.</p><p>Hailey smiled, “I went through a very brief period in college where I thought I was going to be an athletic therapist”, she admitted, she didn’t tell too many people that.</p><p>Jay raised his eyebrows, “Interesting. Hailey Upton, a continuous woman of mystery.”</p><p>She smacked him with a pillow and put a movie on. They didn’t really talk about the case, they didn’t need to. Hailey knew the emotions and guilt he was dealing with ran deeper than just today anyways. She thought about a few years ago when he accidentally shot and killed that little girl. How he spiralled after that. She wasn’t going to let that happen again.</p><p>The movie finished, but Hailey had no intention of going home. Jay was starting to get a little drowsy and groggy from the muscle relaxants, and she needed to get him into bed so he could get some much needed rest. </p><p>“Come on Jay, time for bed”, she said as she helped him stand. He looked at her with his eyes glazed over. </p><p>She stood on his left side, the one with the sore ankle and acted as a human crutch for him. They slowly walked into his bedroom and she pulled back the covers as he slid in. She pulled the blankets over him and went to leave the room.</p><p>“Can you stay?” He asked in a whisper. It almost broke her heart. </p><p>“I’m not leaving Jay. I’ll be right outside on the couch.”</p><p>“Okay good”, he said as he started to doze off.</p><p>Hailey shut the door and went out to the living room, trying to resist crawling in beside him.</p><p>She had been asleep for a few hours before she woke up abruptly to the sound of muffled cries from Jay’s room. She checked the time on her phone, 4:30 in the morning. Yikes, it was early, she yawned.</p><p>She tip-toed down the hall, not wanting to startle him. He had never come straight out and told her that he had nightmares, but she put two and two together. All those times when she knew he wasn’t sleeping, when they had a bad case, particularly military related ones…She always had a hunch but never asked him about it in fear he would ice her out. He never told her about them either, but this confirmed it. She wasn’t sure how she should handle this. </p><p>She thought he would be asleep still when she opened his door, but was surprised to see him sitting semi-upright. </p><p>“Jay?” She asked quietly, making sure his mind was present and not somewhere else. <br/>He looked at her and she knew. He was breathing pretty heavily and looked pale.</p><p>She instantly came around the other side of his bed and crawled in beside him. His mood shifted quickly, in a direction she wasn’t expecting.</p><p>“No Hailey. I don’t want to hurt you”, he said abruptly, pushing her away for her own good. He sometimes got violent when an episode popped up. But she didn’t budge.</p><p>“It’s alright Jay. You aren’t going to hurt me. I trust you”, she replied, scooting closer to him. </p><p>He worked so hard to put walls up with people over the years, especially with ones he cared about. He didn’t want anyone to know about his PTSD. He had it mostly under control these days, after seeing a therapist and working through some old issues. But there were just random times when it re-surfaced. And he would have panic attacks. They were few and far between these days, but still sucked the life out of him when they did happen.</p><p>“No one knows about this, you can’t tell anyone”, he said referring to his panic attacks.</p><p>“I won’t. It’s alright. I know you’ve been doing things to keep it under control.”</p><p>“Will doesn’t even know”, Jay admitted.</p><p>Hailey seemed surprised by that, but did a good job hiding it from her face, Jay thought. </p><p>“What can I do?” She asked quietly. </p><p>“Just have to ride it out”, he told her, trying to breathe through it as he brought his head down between his knees that were clutched to his chest.</p><p>“Okay, we’ll ride it out together then”, she told him as she put a hand on his back, trying to get him to calm down. He appreciated her small gesture, it meant more to him than she would ever know- her not running. </p><p>“Just breathe Jay”, she said sitting there with him, waiting as he took deep breaths. She felt his heart rate slow beneath her hand, and he eventually sat up and nodded after he regained control. He slid back down to rest his head on his pillow. At first he wasn’t sure what Hailey was going to do. He figured she would go back out to the couch to sleep, but she didn’t. </p><p>Are we crossing a line? He asked himself in his head. They had never slept in a real bed together before. Couches, sure, but that suddenly felt very different than this. </p><p>“The line has been crossed a long time ago Jay”, Hailey replied, seemingly reading his mind, sensing his hesitation. The places they found themselves sleeping together in was progressing, in a way that she wasn’t opposed to. She knew he felt the same.</p><p>“But if you snore though I’m leaving”, Hailey retorted, trying to make this transition a smooth one. </p><p>Jay laughed, for the first time in these last few days. </p><p>“Thank you”, he whispered as he felt himself falling back asleep. He felt extra brave so he reached out and grabbed her hand under the blankets. </p><p>“I miss you being my partner Hailey”, he mumbled.</p><p>“I miss you too”, she said sleepily.</p><p>She didn’t pull her hand away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Hailey I'd follow you anywhere</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 7</p><p>Hailey watched as Jay slept for the next little while. She had a bit of insomnia herself, and couldn’t seem to calm back down to sleep after she crawled in next to him. The important thing was that he was resting. His usual tense facial expressions and guarded body language were relaxed as he slept, like the weight of the world was off his shoulders temporarily.</p><p>She watched as the clock hit 6 am and decided she was going to get up to go home. Rojas didn’t have a car so she needed to go back to her place to drive her into work. She slowly wiggled her hand out from Jay’s and moved off the bed as quietly as possible. Jay started to move as soon as she did that and opened his eyes in a panic.</p><p>“Shhh, it’s alright. I have to get back to my house to drive Vanessa to work. It’s only 6 Jay close your eyes, you have some time still.”</p><p>Jay nodded, looking around, making sure he was really awake. His breathing slowed as he felt Hailey’s hand on his shoulder and saw her sitting on the edge of his bed. </p><p>“Are you feeling okay? You need anything before I go?” She asked, referring to him being a little banged up after the roof incident. </p><p>“I’m okay I think. My back is sore though”, Jay grimaced as he rolled over in bed trying to evaluate the situation. </p><p>“Alright, I’ll go get you something for that”, Hailey said softly as she went out to his kitchen. She was trying to avoid discussing the fact that she slept with him in his bed holding his hand, that would be for another time. Or maybe just not worth acknowledging at all at this point.</p><p>She came back in a few minutes later with a hot water bottle and Advil. She didn’t want to give him more muscle relaxants because those made him drowsy and he wouldn’t be able to drive or function at work today. He took them gratefully and smiled at Hailey as she handed him the hot water bottle. She peeled back the covers as he eyed her suspiciously, but understood when she grabbed another pillow and put it under his knees to take some of the pressure off of his back. </p><p>“Thanks Nurse Upton”, Jay flashed her a devilish grin. </p><p>“See you soon”, Hailey said rolling her eyes and smirking as she left his place and made the short drive back to hers.</p><p>Rojas was awake and eating breakfast when Hailey strolled back in. The young officer just smiled at Hailey, she was trying hard not to point out the obvious.</p><p>“How’s Halstead?” Vanessa asked, testing the waters.<br/>“He’s alright. Little banged up”, Hailey said, not revealing too much. </p><p>“Is there something going on with you two?” Vanessa asked, suddenly feeling quite brave. </p><p>Hailey just smirked and didn’t reply to that, “Hurry up, we’re going to be late.”</p><p>They were on their way to the station when they got a call over the radio requesting their presence at a crime scene.</p><p>“Having to look at dead bodies before coffee, perfect”, Hailey sighed as she got out of the car. Rojas took a few seconds to clean off the passenger seat and collect garbage that was in the cup holders and created from eating her breakfast on the go.</p><p>“Why do you do that? We’ve lived together for a month now and I’ve never once seen you leave anything out in the apartment. Is that an undercover thing?”, Hailey inquired, puzzled by Rojas’ behaviour.</p><p>“Nah, it’s a 32 foster homes thing… You want to survive you learn to keep things tight”, Vanessa replied.</p><p>Hailey nodded, she felt bad for questioning her, the poor girl had clearly been through some things in her life. “Well, you don’t need to worry about that with me.”</p><p>Hailey and Vanessa were approaching the scene and chatting when Jay met up with them, handing Hailey a coffee before even greeting her, reading her mind.</p><p>“Thanks”, Hailey replied, taking the coffee in stride.</p><p>“No thanks I’m good”, Rojas said sarcastically. </p><p>“Sorry, habit”, Jay replied with a smirk, eyeing Hailey who was doing the same. </p><p>“Sure, that’s one name for it”, Vanessa said sassily. </p><p>The two detectives shared a brief look with each other, trying to hide their laughter. Hailey knew this was Jay’s way of saying thanks for looking after him, and also truly one of their habits. Rojas knew that too she was just playing with him this morning.</p><p>“You alright?” Hailey whispered once Rojas was out of ear shot and prior to coming up to the scene.</p><p>“Feeling a lot better, thanks”, Jay said as he brushed by her and went back to filling them in on what happened in the shooting here this morning.</p><p>What appeared to be a mutual combatant situation ended up becoming much more than Intelligence initially thought. This shooting was related to carfentanil – an extremely deadly street drug. The team had to act fast in order to prevent dozens of bodies ending up in the morgue. </p><p>Hailey had a CI that she thought could help get them an in with the suppliers. Cameron, a long time CI who she even considered a friend, ended up getting them an in with Book. Darius gave Voight the name, but what happened next, no one was prepared for.</p><p>Hailey went undercover with Cameron to do a buy, hoping to arrest Book. It turns out Book was trying to do a rip, not a buy himself. Things got a little dicey once Hailey realized that and tried to put her seatbelt on before they crashed into the car in front of them. Jay and Kim, Kevin and Adam were all tailing them and did not like the looks of what was happening. They heard the car crash over the radio, Jay felt his blood pressure spike, his heart drop to his stomach. Especially when they heard the gun shots.</p><p>“Shit”, he muttered under his breath, stepping on the gas. Kim was eyeing him from the passenger seat, trying to reassure him that Hailey was okay, she knew what she was doing.</p><p>All four of them arrived as back up, Adam drawing his gun first on the suspect. </p><p>“Hailey?!” Jay called out to her as he jumped out of his truck. </p><p>“Hailey you good?!” Ruzek also yelled, all of them feeling nervous when they didn’t see her at first. </p><p>Jay let out an exhale when he saw her, unharmed. She looked back at him and nodded.</p><p>“I’m good, I need narcan and gloves, we have uncut carfentanil in the street stay back”, she told Jay, having no time to explain anything else. </p><p>“Kim glove box”, Jay told his temporary partner.</p><p>“Stay back”, Hailey told Cameron. </p><p>“No way, we’re in it now Hailey”, he replied, helping her try to bring Book back from his overdose. Hailey gave him Narcan, Cameron stuck his and Hailey’s leg as well since they were exposed. They couldn’t take any chances. They tried, but were unsuccessful. The team watched on, Jay anxious that Hailey was so close to this stuff, a pinhead could kill a person. She was taken into an ambulance to get checked out just in case, and had to change her clothes and do a full hazmat clean up. It made her feel dirty.</p><p>She joined the team after she was cleared and gave Jay a reassuring glance, he had been on edge the whole time she wasn’t there. </p><p>“You alright Hailey?” Ruzek asked her. </p><p>“I’m good guys, thanks.” She looked around at everyone, but her eyes stayed on Jay’s the longest. </p><p>The rest of the day was spent trying to piece together the connection with the drugs and the supplier. As it turns out, Darius was more involved than he initially let on, making Voight furious. He didn’t like being lied to. To make matters worse, Cameron somehow made his way into the station and Darius saw him. Hailey didn’t know for sure if he knew who Cameron was, but either way, this was a huge risk to his safety now and she made sure to let Cameron have it.</p><p>“I can’t use you now, you need to leave town, lay low for a while.”</p><p>“What, no! You can’t do that, you can’t pull me before I get paid. If word gets out I’m not reliable I won’t get anymore jobs!” </p><p>He was really not getting it. “No, it’s MY job to pull you, what were you thinking walking into the station? You were seen!” Hailey was angry, but also frustrated. She clearly wasn’t getting through to him. </p><p>“I’ll pay you for the drugs we seize, but that’s it. We’re done.” She walked away, not aware that this would be her last conversation with Cameron.</p><p>The next day she had 10 missed phone calls from Cameron and eventually agreed to meet up because he told her he had something big. The second he leaned into her car was when she heard the gun shots and saw Cameron go down. Hailey rolled out of her car, requesting immediate back up. She looked under the car fearfully, and saw Cameron lying dead in the street. She had his blood on her hands, and her face, literally. </p><p>They apprehended the shooter, Hailey was shaking with adrenaline and rage. Darius had done this.</p><p>Back at the station, she was in the locker room hunched over the sink trying to get herself cleaned up when she looked up and saw him in the mirror. </p><p>He didn’t say anything at first, just quietly walked over to her. He could tell she had been crying, her hands were trembling in the sink. He put a hand on her back as she tried to control her emotions. He took the face cloth from her and silently helped clean the rest of Cameron’s blood off her face and neck. She had some caked in her hair that she clearly tried to get out but was unsuccessful herself. Jay gently pulled her hair loose from the elastic and did his best to get the blood out. It was his turn to be there for her now. </p><p>“I’m sorry Hailey”, Jay whispered as he pulled her hair back in a ponytail for her. Hailey just nodded, biting her bottom lip in an attempt to hold back her tears. Jay thought he was about to get through to her when he saw Platt out of the corner of his eye. He immediately dropped his arms, knowing that Platt would have some witty comment about this. Little did they know, she had been standing there in silence a lot longer than they realized. What she saw was sweet, gentle Jay. A side of him that was always kept under lock and key. Normally, she would have something to say about it, but she could tell that they were having a moment. She’d also be willing to bet money that Jay wouldn’t have been brushing Kim or Vanessa’s hair anytime in this century. He was tender with Hailey for a reason. </p><p>Platt cleared her throat, almost not wanting to interrupt what she saw happening in front of her. “Sorry to interrupt.”</p><p>Hailey’s walls went immediately back up once she saw Platt and the folder she was holding. Trudy was trying to fill her in on Cameron’s murder but Hailey was having none of it. </p><p>“Upton, I think you want to see this”, Trudy tried again.</p><p>“I already know what’s in there, I don’t need to read it”, she replied and stormed out of the locker room giving her Sergeant some attitude. Jay’s eyes widened, this was out of character even for her.</p><p>“Jay…”, Trudy tried him next. </p><p>“I’ll handle this, just…just let her be”, Jay replied, giving Hailey the space she needed to calm down.</p><p>Over the next few hours and a few outbursts later, Hailey and Jay found themselves in a car waiting for Darius and Mackie, the real supplier, to exchange drugs and money. </p><p>“It would be real easy to move on them both right now. Burn Darius, we couldn’t use him anymore, he’d be booked and do his original time”, Hailey spoke up.</p><p>“Ya for drugs”, Jay replied.</p><p>“30 years is 30 years”, Hailey retorted back.</p><p>“Wait for Darius to make his play, nobody move”, they heard Voight over their radio. </p><p>She was fuming on the inside, he could see that, he could see her anger bubbling all day. Hailey usually kept her emotions close to the vest and in check, just like he did. This case was really hitting home for her though, she felt guilty for Cameron’s death he could see that. He understood, he had been in a similar situation earlier that same week. He was concerned for her, and was trying to help her the best he could.</p><p>“We’re trusting, we’re protecting a killer”, Hailey spewed. Jay could see she was close to making a rash decision, he knew because he saw a bit of him in her right now. </p><p>“Hailey, I’d follow you anywhere. But I know right now you’d tell me to trust Voight”, he told her, revealing a bit more than he planned. He wasn’t sure if she would catch the reference or not. Judging by her face, she did, but didn’t say anything. She knew he was right and appreciated him trying to ground her.</p><p>She inhaled and nodded, turning her face back to the road. They watched Darius get away, Hailey feeling disgusted by the whole thing.</p><p>Later that day, Voight and Jay were questioning the shooter in Cameron’s death but he wasn’t budging. Hailey even walked into the interrogation room hot, trying to get a confession that Darius ordered the hit. This guy was good though, he knew the system, and knew it was in his best interest not to snitch. </p><p>Jay met her behind the glass a few minutes later, watching her, wanting to protect her from the pain she was feeling. He looked at her, trying to be his most vulnerable self so she could see that it was okay to be vulnerable too.</p><p>“Hailey…” </p><p>But she turned away from him to leave the room, she couldn’t have this conversation right now. </p><p>“Hailey”, Jay tried again, this time she paused and looked back at him.</p><p>“Cameron lost which way was up”, he tried to give her some comfort in the fact that his death wasn’t entirely on her. He played the game too, he knew the risks. Hailey nodded, and reached out to touch Jay’s arm. Keeping him at arm’s length felt safe for her right now, she had to get control of herself while she was still at work.</p><p>A while later they were debriefing in the bull pen when she questioned Voight on Darius. Jay was sitting on her desk, close to her, like he had been all day. Like she usually did for him when he was in a foul mood. He was watching her closely, he knew she was about to explode and nothing anyone could say was going to stop her.</p><p>All she got back from Voight was basically that they got the drugs off the street, Darius was a valuable informant to them and nothing would come of him and Cameron. They didn’t really have any concrete evidence, although it seemed to be too much of a coincidence.</p><p>“Hailey, my office”, Voight told her after she kept pushing and pushing, giving him attitude as well, not caring about doing it in front of the team. She was angry, he could appreciate that. </p><p>She shut the door behind her, and prepared herself for a scolding.</p><p>“Do you want me to yell at you or make you feel better?” Voight asked calmly. This felt like a familiar conversation to the one he had with Halstead the week before.</p><p>“He was my CI, I got him killed. I’m not defending him, he wasn’t perfect. But he was mine”, Hailey’s voice broke as her bottom lip quivered.</p><p>“I know. And that’s hard, but Cameron knew the risks. Cops, CI’s. We both have a foot in a world we don’t belong in. Sometimes it doesn’t work out.”</p><p>“How do I carry it?” Hailey asked quietly, allowing her defences to come down for a minute.</p><p>“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I still don’t really know.” He told her honestly.</p><p>She sat there a moment, collecting her thoughts before getting up and leaving his office.</p><p>She opened the door and was surprised to find Jay still sitting at his desk under the soft glow of a lamp, waiting for her. Everyone else had gone home, the bullpen was dark and empty. </p><p>“I gave Vanessa the key’s to your car. I’ll give you a ride home”, Jay told her assertively.</p><p>She wasn’t sure how she felt about him just casually giving Rojas her car, but she knew it came from a good place. He was trying to be there for her, he had been all day but she was resisting it. But the day was done, and she knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She never did either. </p><p>She sighed and nodded in defeat. He got up from his desk and handed her the jacket she left hanging on the back of her chair. Voight saw the two of them walk down the stairs together, Jay’s hand protectively placed on Hailey’s back as they walked away, and he shook his head. These two.</p><p>The drive back to Hailey’s house was pretty silent, Jay understood how she was feeling. She helped him through it, now it was his turn to do the same for her.</p><p>They walked up her steps, Hailey gave up on even trying to get him to leave. She knew he was going to be there for her tonight whether she liked it or not. Vanessa was home, watching TV when they came in. She read the situation and didn’t say anything, just waved at the two of them. Hailey dropped her bags and immediately headed for her room.</p><p>“I need to take a shower”, she announced. Jay just nodded, Vanessa stayed quiet. As much as Jay helped her get Cameron’s blood off of her, she still felt like she needed to stand under hot water for a while and scrub herself to feel clean.</p><p>Jay headed into her kitchen, they hadn’t really talked about food but he knew Hailey. She probably didn’t eat much today, but she needed to have something. </p><p>Vanessa heard him rummaging through the cupboards so she went to investigate.</p><p>“Looking for something?” She asked him curiously. Jay poked his head out a second later with supplies in hand.</p><p>“All good”, he smiled.</p><p>“Since when do you cook?” </p><p>“Cook is a generous term…I know how to make really good pasta and that’s about it. I’ll let you in on a secret about Hailey though. Food is her love language”, Jay laughed, so did Vanessa.</p><p>“It’s sweet, what you did for her today. What you’re doing for her”, Rojas admitted, seeing if Jay would bite, not lost on her that he just said love language.</p><p>He smirked, “She does the same for me all the time.” That didn’t say much but it said enough. </p><p>Hailey came back downstairs a while later, smelling something delicious. She had to double take when she saw Jay standing over her stove, simmering what looked like pasta sauce. Vanessa was sitting at the island with him, they were chatting and laughing about something. </p><p>Vanessa saw her come in first. “Hey Hailey.”</p><p>Jay stopped what he was doing and looked back at his partner. She was wearing comfy clothes and had her hair pulled up in a messy bun. </p><p>“What is going on in here?” Hailey questioned as she came up from behind Jay, giving him a sceptical look.</p><p>“What? You’re not the only one in this partnership that can cook you know”, he said with a smirk on his face.</p><p>Hailey returned the grin, raising her eyebrows playfully while looking back at Rojas. They had a lot of explaining to do after this one. But she had to admit, Vanessa had been good so far at keeping things under wraps. It was natural that she had questions about them. In their short time living together she had seen some strange ‘more than partner’ things. But maybe it was in their best interest to not explain it. Hailey wasn’t even that confident she could explain it herself. </p><p>“Sit down”, Jay motioned to the island. He had every intention on waiting on Hailey tonight, like she had done when he wasn’t feeling so hot the other night.</p><p>Rojas raised her eyes at that, she was beginning to get a handle on what was happening between the two of them. It was becoming more obvious that something was there between them, but also increasingly apparent that they hadn’t fully talked about it themselves either. She wasn’t sure if that made things more complicated, or in a way, easier. She was going to take her own advice from earlier and keep things tight, play by the unspoken rules of this house and not rock the boat.</p><p>Jay served Hailey her dinner first, spaghetti bolognese with fresh parmesan and garlic bread. Her mouth was watering. She smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks Jay.”</p><p>“I figured you might be hungry, and not really want to cook for yourself so…”</p><p>“So you whipped out your once in a blue moon go to classic”, she finished his sentence for him and he grinned back. “Exactly.”</p><p>Vanessa sat there, secretly jealous of the two of them. They didn’t know how lucky they were to have what they did. As a kid, she longed for this type of companionship, love even. Jay looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Vanessa took that as them wanting some privacy so she started to leave the kitchen.</p><p>“Rojas… “, he called out before setting a plate down in front of her too. She looked at him surprised, she wasn’t expecting him to make her dinner. </p><p>“To make up for my coffee misstep the other day”, he grinned. “Peace offering.” Hailey smiled at that one too.</p><p>Vanessa smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Apology accepted”, she joked.</p><p>“But if you tell anyone that I can cook…”, Jay warned.</p><p>“Trust me, I wouldn’t even know how to tell anyone about this in general”, she laughed as the two of them blushed.</p><p>The three of them enjoyed dinner and had a glass of wine to unwind from the stress of the day. Vanessa helped Jay clean up while Hailey went to lie down on the couch.</p><p>“Go, I got this”, Vanessa told Jay as she washed up the dishes left in the sink. Jay gave her a pat on the shoulder and left to go be with his partner.</p><p>Hailey was sitting in silence on the couch staring at the blank TV screen, feeling drained mentally and physically. Jay came up from behind and called her name, causing her to jump. </p><p>“Sorry”, he said sheepishly.</p><p>“That’s okay.” She said as she felt his gaze on her. He sat down on the couch next to her and let things be. </p><p>Eventually she opened up and talked to him about how she was feeling. She was more like him than she realized, keeping things bottled up. But it felt equally as good letting it out. </p><p>“We talk about it so we can go to work the next day”, he echoed something she once told him after she was done unloading. She wiped a stray tear from her face and smiled at him. </p><p>“Thanks for this Jay”, she said. </p><p>“Always Hailey. Come here”, he said as he scooted closer to her and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. He extended his own arm around her shoulder, wrapping her in a protective hold. </p><p>She caved and let her head fall to rest on his shoulder. His other arm came up to complete the circle around her, she relaxed and let the tension go from earlier. He felt her melt into his arms and he set his chin on top of her head, running his hand up and down her back without saying anything. They didn’t need more words today.</p><p>Eventually he felt her fall asleep in his arms and decided to stay where he was. He heard Rojas tip toe in a while later, likely to check if they were sleeping or not. </p><p>He smiled at her as he was caught red-handed, he raised his finger to his lip to tell her to keep quiet. Hailey was fast asleep on his chest. Vanessa smiled and came back a minute later with a blanket for him too. Jay was trying to move a pillow down to prop his knees up because his back was starting to hurt again when she returned. She eyed him doing that, confused.</p><p>“My back…from jumping off the roof the other day”, he whispered. </p><p>Rojas nodded, “Gotcha”, and helped him get into a more comfortable position without waking Hailey. That told her a lot too. That Jay was in pain and likely aware sleeping on the couch wasn’t going to help the situation. But he was committed to doing it anyways. She left once more to get him some anti-inflammatory meds, whatever she could find. She stuck her hand out, encouraging him to take them and turned the lights off in the living room. His eyes were starting to close too, Rojas gave him a fist bump and said good night. </p><p>He watched Hailey’s blonde hair rise up and down on his chest as he inhaled and exhaled, finding his heart rate slower than usual, her presence was calming for him always. Her facial expression was soft after being so wound up today, and he realized something. It felt so natural with her lying there in his arms.</p><p>Jay’s favourite place to follow Hailey anywhere was right here.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. I will spoon feed this to you if I have to</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 8</p><p>Over the next few weeks, Hailey had noticed a change in Jay. His behaviour had become a bit odd, he was more distant than usual. She had tried to talk to him to make sure he was okay, they had made so much progress lately. She would hate to see it go down the drain. But every time she brought it up, he brushed her off. So, she let it go.</p><p>Their case of the week was a troublesome one. They found a girl who was kidnapped years before and held in captivity, having a child with the man in the process. Burgess was taking it hard. So much so that she looked ill for days, out of sorts and pale as a ghost. </p><p>“She alright?” Hailey whispered to Adam, nudging him towards Kim.</p><p>He looked thrown off by that comment at first, Hailey thought it was strange, almost as if he was hiding something. She didn’t think he would be weird about the two of them anymore, Hailey knew they always had a thing.</p><p>“Yeah, she’s okay. Just taking this case hard you know?” Adam bounced back quickly. </p><p>“Understandable”, Hailey left it at that and walked away.</p><p>The rest of the week was quiet in Intelligence. The team was working away on their own things, Rojas and Hailey were paired together most of the time. She didn’t get much of a chance to talk with Jay, who had mostly been partnered with Kim. Friday came and Kevin gathered the team together in the bullpen. </p><p>“Alright, it’s been a long few weeks, who is down for Molly’s tonight?”</p><p>“Me”, “Hell yes”, “Let’s go”, rang out from around the room. Even Voight nonchalantly nodded and confirmed his attendance. Everyone was agreement, until Hailey realized, all but Jay spoke up.</p><p>“You’re gonna come out for a drink right?” She looked up at him as he was sitting on the edge of her desk like he always did. She saw the hesitation before he hid it again and lied. </p><p>“Ya I think so, have to run an errand first though”, he replied.</p><p>She didn’t push it, but she knew something was up. </p><p>“Okay cool, see you there!” She got up to put her coat on and walked downstairs with the rest of the team, chatting to Vanessa about their day. </p><p>Jay watched on as he stayed up in the bullpen for a few minutes after everyone left. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He rubbed his temples and tried to pull himself together. No one knew what he had been up to for the last few weeks and he wanted to keep it that way.</p><p>The team ended up having a blast at Molly’s that night. Karaoke was involved, Platt did her usual “Oh no me, I couldn’t” act but then somehow ended up on stage singing her heart out to Bohemian Rhapsody. Everyone was killing themselves laughing, even Voight. </p><p>As the night went on and more drinks were had, the rest of the team trickled in, as well as most of 51. At first, Hailey didn’t really realize everyone that was missing until she did a mental checklist. She had sent Jay a text but he never got back to her.</p><p>“Kim didn’t make it out?” She asked Kevin and Adam, who quickly answered for her.</p><p>“No, she wasn’t feeling very great today. Thinks she came down with a bug”, Adam replied.</p><p>“Oh, that’s not good. She did look a little pale today”, Hailey and Vanessa said sympathetically.</p><p>“And Halstead?” The guys asked Hailey back.</p><p>She shrugged her shoulders and checked her phone to see if had replied to her. She was surprised to see that he actually did text her back. She opened it and raised her eyebrows.</p><p>“Hails, I’ve been sick a few times since coming home from work, not going to make it out tonight. Tell everyone I say hi!” She read out Jay’s text. </p><p>“Ahh, that’s too bad. Maybe him and Burgess have the same thing. Makes sense, they’ve been working together a lot this week.” Kevin added, the rest of the group nodded along.</p><p>Hailey had a weird feeling about this, but that did make sense. If Burgess was sick, it wasn’t totally unbelievable that Jay picked it up too. </p><p>“Ya guess so, that’s a bummer”, Hailey deflected and played it off. But deep down she knew something was going on with Jay and she was going to get to the bottom of it.</p><p>“Aww okay. Do you need anything? I can come by after Molly’s?” She texted him back.</p><p>“That’s alright, I’ll be fine. Don’t want you to get sick”, he messaged back instantly.</p><p>Hailey sighed, stubborn Jay. “Okay, if you say so. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll check on you later.”</p><p>“Thanks, have fun”, he ended the conversation.</p><p>Hailey put her phone away, not completely convinced that he was telling her the truth, but she decided to let it go and have fun with the rest of the team.</p><p>“Jay alright?” Vanessa inquired privately.</p><p>“I think so, just needs to sleep it off. I’ll check on him tomorrow”, she confided in her roommate, who at this point knew the nature of their partnership. Not romantic, but close.</p><p>“Sounds good. So now that we solved the missing Jay and Kim mystery, I think we should do some shots”, Rojas smirked, Hailey laughed at that. </p><p>“Oh to be young again. What the hell, it’s Friday”, she agreed.</p><p>Elsewhere at Molly’s, a smug Adam texted Kim a message after learning about Jay. </p><p>“Darlin, looks like you’ve been saved by Jay. He’s not here either because he came down with something, so everyone bought that you’re sick too.” Adam chuckled at the timing of it all.  </p><p>“Excellent. Well, not great that Jay’s sick, but you know”, Kim sent back with a wink face. </p><p>“You think Jay’s actually sick though?” Adam replied, seeing how Hailey weirdly reacted to the text from her partner. And how they had been acting a bit strange with each other all week.</p><p>“Not sure, he seemed fine today. But you never know, these things can come on quickly. Could have been something he ate too.” Kim reasoned.</p><p>“That’s true. Hailey’s still here so there goes our theory on that.” Adam laughed as he sent that text back. </p><p>“Lol. I think the jury is still out on that one. Get off your phone though, have fun, see you later!” Kim ended their conversation and Adam went back to the table to have drinks with everyone. Thanks to Jay, their secret was still safe, for now. </p><p>The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, the team enjoying themselves. Voight even paid their tabs. All in all, a great time. Hailey had so much to drink that she forgot to text Jay when she got home to see if he was still okay. She went to her bed and passed out right away.</p><p>The next morning, she woke up after sleeping in a bit. Surprisingly feeling okay considering the night they had. Rojas was nursing a bit of a hangover herself, when Hailey went downstairs to the kitchen and found her waiting for the coffee to be ready.</p><p>“Ouch”, they laughed together. <br/>“Plans for today?” Hailey asked.</p><p>“You’re looking at it”, Rojas motioned to her pyjamas and Netflix turned on in the living room. </p><p>“Gotcha”, Hailey chuckled. </p><p>“You? Jay?” She said suggestively.</p><p>Hailey tried to fight a smile, she was allowing herself to be a bit more open with Vanessa about their situation. If there truly was one, she didn’t even really know right now. But she knew that Vanessa knew something was up. Perks of living with another observant cop. She wasn’t exactly trying to be dishonest.</p><p>“Ya, I’ll probably head over there later. I messaged him a while ago to see how he was doing but no reply. Probably still sleeping if he isn’t feeling well.”</p><p>“Probably, it’s still early. You’re welcome to join me and my Christmas movie binge for the time being”, Rojas offered, to which Hailey agreed.</p><p>They spent a few hours watching movies and drinking coffee with one another when Hailey decided she was going to pull herself together for the day. Still radio silence from Jay, which made her a bit nervous. She felt especially guilty after she checked ‘Find my friends’ to see his location at his apartment. Maybe he was actually sick, he was a bit off yesterday, more so than the rest of the week. </p><p>Vanessa had fallen asleep on the couch so Hailey quietly got up and went into the kitchen to make some soup to bring over to her partner.</p><p>She was about done when she heard Vanessa yawn behind her.</p><p>“Smells good, what are you making?” She peered over her shoulder to inspect what was in the pot.</p><p>“Making Jay some chicken noodle, still haven’t heard from him. He must really be sick”, Hailey said checking the time.</p><p>“Ahh, not good. I’m sure he’ll appreciate that. Nothing better than homemade soup when you’re sick”, Vanessa replied, not mentioning the nervous energy she was picking up off of Hailey. </p><p>Hailey smiled, returning to the simmering pot, giving it a quick taste test to see if it was ready. She went upstairs to get dressed and head over to Jay’s.</p><p>On the drive over she tried calling him but still no answer. It was 3 in the afternoon and very unlike Jay to be radio silent for this long.<br/>She pulled up to his apartment to find his truck parked outside where it normally was, and his phone still showed that he was inside. She didn’t really like spying on him like that, it felt weird. But, she wanted to make sure he was alright.</p><p>She brought the food upstairs and knocked on his apartment door. Nothing. She tried again, and again. Her soft knocking became a little bit louder.</p><p>“Jay it’s me. I’ve come to take care of you. Brought you some soup, open up”, she said. </p><p>Hailey couldn’t see this, but Jay was leaning with his back on the other side of the door. </p><p>“I know you’re in there!” Hailey yelled out a little bit sassier this time. He could hear the frustration in his partner’s voice.</p><p>Jay’s heart hurt hearing the dejection in Hailey’s voice, masked as annoyance. He didn’t want to be doing this to her, he knew it was wrong. But he didn’t want her to get tangled up in this mess he had created for himself either.</p><p>“Jay I don’t care if you’re sick. I will spoon feed this to you if I have to…”</p><p>He smirked at that. And he wished so badly that he was brave enough to open the door right then and there and let her in, tell her what was really going on. That he wasn’t really sick last night, that he had gone to help Angela with some grocery shopping. Maybe she would give him advice on how to fix it like she always does. But he didn’t, he froze. He let himself watch her through the peep hole just stand there, holding her ground, knowing that he was keeping something from her but trying to get through to him anyways. It broke his heart to see her standing there in his hallway so unsure, biting her bottom lip. The habit she does when she’s nervous or thinking really hard. If he had to guess, right now she was probably halfway between storming off or kicking his door in. Then she mumbled her last thing between the doorway.</p><p>“Alright, I made you this chicken noodle because it’s your favourite. So I’m going to leave it here for you. Call me when you’re ready to talk.” He looked out through the peep hole and saw her leave the pot of soup at his doorway and pause for a second before turning back down the hall. He waited for her to disappear down the stairwell and watched her drive away from his front window before quietly opening his door and taking the soup inside. There was a note on top. </p><p>“I know you aren’t sick. Or maybe you are. I don’t know. Either way, whatever is bothering you, you know that I will always be in your corner –H.” </p><p>He bit down on his bottom lip and let out a big sigh. What was he doing?! His partner came over here and brought homemade soup thinking he was sick. She was even prepared to take care of him. He didn’t deserve her, and she certainly didn’t deserve this.</p><p>Jay slowly ate some of the soup, and although he wasn’t sick, it did make him feel a lot better. Her cooking always did. He waited a few hours before texting her, revealing a little bit of the truth.</p><p>“The soup was really good thanks Hails. I want to be honest with you right now, but I’m just not ready to talk about it yet.” He nervously hit send and waited, getting a reply back a few minutes later.</p><p>“Anytime. You know that you can talk to me about anything. I just want to make sure you’re okay?” She replied back.</p><p>“Things are okay, I’ll see you Monday”, he closed off the conversation before she could pry anything else out. He was trying to keep his head above water and wanted to talk to Hailey about everything, just not now.</p><p>The rest of the weekend went by and Jay didn’t hear much from Hailey. He knew she was trying to give him some space and he appreciated that. That was until he saw her car parked across the street from the baseball diamond Sunday afternoon. </p><p>He said good bye to Angela and Bobby, and slowly walked towards Hailey’s vehicle. He sighed, she knew.</p><p>Hailey looked on at Jay, shaking her head, and rolled down her window when he approached her car.</p><p>“You following me?” He said in a way that sort of sounded like flirting with her.</p><p>“Wellll, that’s what happens when you keep lying to your partner”, she said sassily.</p><p>“I lied to you?” Jay tried once more to keep his walls up, but Hailey wasn’t having it.</p><p>“Last week you said she was an unwitting so I did my due diligence. I know who she is, but the question is does she know who you are?”</p><p>“No, she doesn’t. But it’s okay, I know what I’m doing.”</p><p>“Jay…”, Hailey shook her head, the disappointment on her face was killing him.</p><p>“Hailey, I’m just trying to help out a family that got screwed.”</p><p>“If she finds out who you are, we’re all screwed. You gotta walk away”, she stared at him sternly, they were having a separate conversation with their eyes compared to what was coming out of her mouth. Her real thoughts were that she was worried about him. </p><p>“Okay”, he agreed somewhat reluctantly and went to turn towards his truck. </p><p>Hailey was about to say something else when she heard her phone ping.</p><p>“Hold up Jay, it’s Voight. Body in Inglewood, he wants us on scene.”</p><p>Jay nodded and tapped her vehicle, “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”</p><p>Hailey agreed and rolled up her window, shaking her head profusely once Jay could no longer see her. What was he doing? </p><p>They didn’t have much time to talk about anything else as soon as they arrived on the scene together. And it was a gruesome one, stomach turning even. They processed the body and split up to look into this murder. Hailey and Jay turned to leave when he whispered that he had to leave.</p><p>“What do you mean? We have work to do”, she said confused.</p><p>“It won’t take long, let’s not talk about it here”, he said, trying to keep things private.</p><p>“Okay, do what you gotta do”, she told him, even though she did not like this. Not one bit. He left quietly and Hailey was left to deal with questions from Voight.</p><p>“Where did Halstead go?” </p><p>“He had to step out and take care of something. It’s personal”, Hailey covered for her partner.</p><p>“Something you want to tell me?” He inquired suspiciously.</p><p>“Jay’s going through a few things, he’s working it out”, Hailey replied carefully.</p><p>“Something you don’t want to tell me?” Voight changed his question.</p><p>“Ya, but it’s not my place to share. Not yet anyways”, Hailey smirked, knowing that not much got by their boss. But she needed to protect Jay on this one.</p><p>Voight looked suspicious, but knew Hailey always had Jay’s best interest at heart. So if she was fine with him stepping out, he wasn’t going to question it- for now.</p><p>Meanwhile, Jay raced over to Angela’s house. The text he received from her was cryptic. His suspicions were confirmed when he peered inside her living room window and saw blood on the carpet. His adrenaline spiked as he kicked the door in and yelled around the house for her. </p><p>He made it as far as the kitchen before he felt something heavy strike him in the back of the head, and then everything went black.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Stay with me Jay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 9</p><p>Blood. That’s all Jay could taste, all he could smell. He was fighting to open his eyes and was slowly regaining his senses. His head was killing him, and he knew his hands were tied to something. He took a few slow breaths in, trying to bypass the nausea and throbbing headache he had. His shirt felt wet, with his own blood, he eventually pieced together.</p><p>How did I get here? He thought for a brief moment before his memories flooded back. He received a text from Angela, he went to her house to look for her and then someone hit him in the back of the head. That was all he could remember. He had a concussion he was sure of that much, his head did not feel great, that was all he could make out with his quick internal survey. He finally opened his eyes and was greeted with several hard punches to the face. That was going to leave a mark, he thought as he felt the blood pour from his cheek, already feeling a black eye forming.</p><p>“Where are my drugs that you and your girl stole?” A male voice kept yelling at him. </p><p>“I told you man, I have no idea. We didn’t take your drugs”, Jay mustered up the strength to yell back at the man, after receiving more beatings. He was barely able to stay conscious, but he needed to figure out why they were down here in order to make a plan to get them out. He looked over and saw Angela bleeding from her stomach, also tied up on the ground. The cement was cold and damp, Jay was already feeling the chill in his bones.</p><p>Whoever was in front of him didn’t seem to like Jay’s answer and continued to punch him across the face once he told them to go easy on Angela. Jay was hurting, but he could take it, and he would rather take it then let Angela suffer any further.</p><p>Eventually, the two mystery men left and Jay let out a few deep sighs, trying to hold in the tears he so desperately wanted to let out. </p><p>“Angela, what the hell is going on? I need to know, did you steal their drugs?” Jay asked weakly. Every ounce of his being was trying to stay awake.</p><p>“Yes”, she shamefully confessed from across the basement. </p><p>Jay’s heart sank, and hopeful mood deflated. They were in some serious trouble right now. He listened as Angela came clean about what happened, he was trying to think about how they were going to get them out of here. But he was coming up blank, his head hurt so bad. And now his face. But he had to stay awake. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed while he was knocked out, or what time it was. All he knew was that by now, someone probably noticed he was missing. And that someone would likely be his partner. If he could buy them enough time, he knew that Hailey would find him.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey had been trying to get a hold of Jay all night. It was unusual for him to not call her back, even with him being a little distant the last few weeks. She tried once more as she made her way upstairs.</p><p>“Jay, third message. I was annoyed after the first two but now I’m getting worried, call me as soon as you can.” She shook her head, unable to shake the bad feeling she had about this. She ran into Kim and Adam before going into the bullpen and asked if they heard from Jay at all. Kim shook her head.</p><p>“We were supposed to grab beers last night to make up for his Molly’s ditch last weekend, but he never called me back”, Adam replied, not too phased by that. But to Hailey that was a huge red flag.</p><p>They were interrupted by Trudy storming upstairs. “Hey is Halstead on a UC run?”</p><p>“No, not that I know about. Hailey?” Voight turned to her. If anyone knew where Jay was it would be her.</p><p>She shook her head at Voight, growing increasingly concerned. “No I called him a few times but never heard back…”</p><p>“I ran GPS on his truck and it’s parked on a street in Englewood”, Trudy said, also feeling a sinister vibe here.</p><p>“How long has it been there?” Voight inquired.</p><p>“All night. There were a few calls about suspicious persons on that street last night…” Trudy voiced what everyone seemed to be in fear of. Something was wrong with Jay.</p><p>“Okay Hailey, Rojas- go check it out. We’ll follow and meet you there”, Voight ordered, with the rest of the team moving quickly. Kim gently squeezed Hailey’s shoulder on the way by trying to tell her that things were going to be okay.</p><p>Hailey sped over to the location as fast as she possibly could. She pulled out Jay’s spare truck key from her pocket and unlocked it, Rojas went to see what was inside as Hailey checked out the house.<br/>“Looks clear”, Vanessa said.</p><p>“Check the glove box”, Hailey replied, knowing that Jay always kept his badge and gun in there if he didn’t have it on him. </p><p>“His badge and gun are still here”, Rojas confirmed a second later, confirming another one of Hailey’s fears.</p><p>“Okay…so he went undercover”, Hailey was thinking out loud as she looked in the window of the house. The hairs on arms stood up when she saw the kicked in door frame and quickly whipped out her gun. The rest of the unit did the same, it was unspoken that she was in charge on this one.</p><p>Adam went around back, Kevin, Kim and Vanessa followed Hailey in the front to clear the house.</p><p>“Chicago PD, Jay call out!” Hailey and Vanessa yelled. But the house was empty. All seemed typical of a break in until they got to the kitchen. Hailey saw a huge pool of blood on the linoleum floor and her stomach sank. </p><p>“Adam opening up”, she told him at the back door, and let him into the kitchen to see for himself. His face painted the same picture, whatever happened here, was not good. </p><p>“Jesus”, he whispered under his breath, looking around at the blood in the kitchen, trailing to the back door, and then at Hailey’s face. One that looked pale, and scared as soon as she looked at a picture on the fridge. Like she had seen a ghost.</p><p>“You recognize that woman?” Adam asked quietly, fearing the worst. Hailey deflected for now, needing to think about how she was going to handle this.</p><p>“There’s a shell casing on the floor”, she said and walked away. Adam knew this was serious by her reaction though.  </p><p>By the time Voight had arrived, Adam, Hailey and Kim were out front telling him what they knew so far. Angela Nelson, no priors, not a CI of Jay’s. Her house was torn apart, so whoever came here was looking for something, or someone in particular. </p><p>“Alright, Jay is missing. I want every single agency on alert…”, Voight said.</p><p>“Sarge, we can’t do that”, Hailey cut him off abruptly, much to the extreme surprise of the rest of the unit, even Voight was thrown off by that. Jay was so important to Hailey, why on earth would she not want everyone out looking for him?</p><p>“Excuse me?” Voight replied. Hailey felt all eyes on her, but motioned to her boss to speak privately.<br/>“Angela’s husband was Marcus West”, Hailey confided in Voight once they were off from the group. </p><p>“The addict who got killed at county?” Voight shook his head, slowly piecing things together.</p><p>“Ya. Jay still blames himself for that. He’s been seeing her.”</p><p>Voight raised his eyebrows, this starting to feel a little too familiar. </p><p>“Not romantically”, Hailey sensed the tension there. “He’s been spending time with her and her son, just trying to help them out.”</p><p>“I see. You know why Jay came here last night?”</p><p>“No clue, he’s been pretty closed off lately. I knew something was going on with him…I just…”, Hailey shook her head and looked down at her feet.</p><p>“Alright, I’ll fill everyone in. But you’re right, we have to keep this in house.”</p><p>XXXX</p><p>Voight brought the team up to speed and they quickly went to work, making a few connections to Angela and the missing drugs, hopefully getting closer to finding Jay. Hailey had been in the background in the bullpen, the rest of the unit working extremely hard to find leads. They knew she was overwhelmed, even if she wasn’t showing it. </p><p>Then a name popped up. Carlos Diaz, a suspect in the murder from the night before and a person of interest in Jay’s kidnapping. They pinged his phone and saw that he was at a stash house near by. Hailey didn’t even wait for the order, she jumped for her coat to go find this guy, Adam following her. They found Carlos alright, dead as a door nail. Overdosed. </p><p>“He’s cold, been dead for a while”, Adam told Hailey who walked away shaking her head. She was so frustrated. But on the bright side, they did find the missing drugs that Angela had in her car the other night. Maybe this wasn’t a wasted trip after all.</p><p>The rest of the day flew by, chasing leads that brought them a bit closer to finding Jay. Turns out, their new friend Darius Walker could help. </p><p>He set up a meeting with Kev and Pedro Silva, whose drugs had been stolen. His oldest two sons were looking good for the kidnapping at this point. </p><p>“I should have said something as soon as I found out Jay was seeing Angela”, Hailey confessed in a guilt ridden voice to Voight. They were sitting in his car nearby, waiting for Kevin and Pedro to meet up.<br/>Their talk was cut short when they saw Silva pull up. Hailey was antsy to put a tracker on his car, but it was too dangerous.</p><p>Kevin was playing it cool, Pedro seemed to be buying his story. They got to the point where Kev gave him a proposition; the missing drugs and an extra 50k in exchange for Jay and Angela. But Pedro started to walk away.</p><p>“You know how this works man, I need proof of life or no deal”, Kev told Pedro as the man got up in his face. He hesitated at first, but after Darius talked to him, he made a phone call, presumably to one of his sons. Kev’s own heart was thumping in his chest in anticipation.</p><p>He heard Jay’s voice, which made him relieved more than anything. But he didn’t sound like himself, he sounded tired, and his words were slurring a bit. Kev didn’t like that, but it was all they had right now. He was alive at least. Then the call was cut short.</p><p>Back in the basement, Jay was feeling a shot of adrenaline after hearing Kev on the other end of a random phone call. He just had to hang on, despite how terrible he was feeling. How easy it would be to close his eyes and drift off, he was tired and in pain after taking more punches to the face. But his team was closing in on whatever was happening here.</p><p>Angela had a lot of questions, rightfully so, Jay thought. About how he received the phone call and how his ‘friend’ had the missing drugs. But Jay didn’t have the patience or energy to explain.</p><p>“Just focus on getting out of here okay” Angela nodded at that.</p><p>“We’re getting out of here”, Jay kept repeating, almost as if he needed to say it out loud to believe it himself.</p><p>He had some hope again, that his team was looking for him. They were close, she was close. </p><p>Meanwhile, the team was waiting at 4 pm that afternoon in an abandoned warehouse for Silva to show up. With what they thought was Jay and Angela. Turns out they were trying to set them up. </p><p>“No, no, no. They’re not here, repeat I do NOT have Jay”, Adam said over the radio as gunfire erupted in the warehouse. Silva started to flee. Voight and Hailey chased down Silva after shooting him in the leg. Hailey stepped on the wound on his leg, causing him to cry out.</p><p>“Where is he! He’s a cop, if anything happens to him that’s capitol murder”, she whispered with a vengeance and tears in her eyes.<br/>“Hailey, not here”, Voight said with a hint of excitement in his voice. He wanted nothing more than to take Silva into the cages right now and teach him a listen.</p><p>“You better pray to God he’s still alive”, Hailey spat out at him as she dragged him into the vehicle and headed back to the station.</p><p>Jay was close to freeing his one arm, he had been working at it all day. His skin was raw around the rope that was tied to the pole that was trapping him. He was starting to feel weak, and he knew Angela’s injuries were getting worse too. He knew that they should have done the deal by now. His mind drifted elsewhere, trying to focus on something happy to get him through. But dark thoughts were creeping in. How he was going to leave Will brotherless, and as the last living Halstead. How he’d never get the chance to tell Hailey how he really felt, how much he loved her and cared for her. How he’d never get married or have kids of his own one day. What seemed like an impossible situation was getting worse by the minute. The irony of it all. Everything he went through overseas and back at home, what might get him was trying to help out a mother and her son.</p><p>“He killed two little boys”, he heard Angela crying across the room, mumbling and crying things about Marcus. The guilt Jay was feeling, had been carrying around and eating him alive was too much. Rationally, he knew telling her the truth was a terrible idea, but the words spilled out anyways. His head injury, he thought. And in the event that they didn’t make it out here…</p><p>“Marcus didn’t kill those kids”, Jay admitted, shamefully.</p><p>“What?” Angela questioned.</p><p>“I’m a cop. That’s how I met Marcus, I arrested him”, Jay came clean, hanging his head as he felt Angela’s anger from across the room.</p><p>From there, it went exactly how he was anticipating it to go, but he didn’t really care. He deserved her wrath, her hurtful words. He caused this. But when he heard Angela threaten that she was going to tell their kidnappers he was a cop…he couldn’t let her do that. They would kill them both. She didn’t seem to believe him, all she could see was red.</p><p>The mood in the room instantly changed when one of the Silva brothers came in a few minutes later. Jay looked at Angela, begging her with his eyes to keep quiet. Well with the right one, the left one was pretty swollen shut. He thought it was over when he heard Angela whisper something to one of the men, but thankfully she pulled back. They would live to see another hour.</p><p> </p><p>“Sarge, we need leverage… let’s use the youngest son against Silva”, Hailey told Voight while they were down in the cages.</p><p>“The honours student?” He questioned her sceptically, this was not Hailey’s usual approach. Thinking back to a similar case last year, where Jay wanted to do the same thing. But Hailey pushed back, saying it wasn’t fair to play with an innocent man’s life. How times have changed. But then again, this was Jay they were talking about. Voight knew Hailey would move heaven and Earth to get him back safely. </p><p>“Ya, he’s the only thing this guy cares about”, Hailey agreed, showing Voight she was willing to go there. A side of her he was not used to seeing.</p><p>“Do what you gotta do”, he gave her his blessing and returned to the cages with Silva.</p><p>Hailey was pacing upstairs in the kitchen, on the phone, trying to figure out where Silva’s youngest son was. Her emotions were starting to take over. She had been strong all day, but the cracks were starting to spread. Jay had been missing for a long time now, and she knew as well as anyone that wasn’t good. The longer he was gone, well, frankly the less chance that he had. She had to find him alive. The thought of a world without Jay in it was too much to bear. She slammed her coffee mug against the sink in frustration, shattering it all over the lunch room. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, but she was too far gone.</p><p>Adam saw this happening, and cautiously knocked on the door to let Hailey know he was there.</p><p>“You alright?” He asked, knowing that she wasn’t. He asked her what was going on, trying to give Hailey a chance to take a breather. She let her guard down, which surprised him. It was right then and there that he knew for sure, her reaction was confirmation enough to him. Considering they all had their suspicions about Hailey and Jay at this point, no one knew better than Adam. He watched last year as she cried for him when he got shot, when they got together but her mind was always somewhere else, that her heart always belonged to someone else. He put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, the tears falling down her cheeks more steadily now.</p><p>“We’re gonna find him, you know that right?” He said confidently, as his eyes met her piercing blue ones. She bit her lip and nodded.</p><p>“We’re gonna find him”, he repeated and stayed with her while she cried for her partner and all that was hanging in the balance.</p><p>Hours had gone by, but they finally received a location on Jay and Angela thanks to some not so by the book interrogation by Hailey and Vanessa. The facts didn’t really matter right now, what mattered was getting Jay back safe and sound.<br/>“3900 West Union, old manufacturing plant- let’s go, NOW”, Voight barked. Hailey could feel a bit of relief in her chest, they knew where Jay was. What kind of shape he was in they had no idea, but she was hopeful that he was still alive.</p><p>She couldn’t stop fidgeting the whole ride over. All she kept thinking about was what she would tell Jay when she saw him. That was keeping her going right now. Believing in her heart that he was alive. When the arrived at the plant, her and Kev split up from the rest of the group to take another side of the building. She couldn’t walk anymore, she was running, desperately wanting to get to Jay as fast as she could. They looked around, not seeing a way in. That was until Kev pointed out a heating vent. One that only Hailey would be able to fit through. Voight told them to wait, but Hailey wasn’t going to take that as an answer and Kev certainly wasn’t going to get in her way. He knew the look in her eyes, he knew how much Jay meant to her. If she could get in there even a minute faster than anyone else, even without backup, she was going to take that risk for him.</p><p>He helped hoist her up and she slid through while everyone else tried to get in the building another way. </p><p>Jay was downstairs, having finally broken free. He conned the first brother into getting close enough to knock him out with the pipe. He had no idea how close his team really was.</p><p>He made sure Angela was free from her wrist ties, and gave her the pipe to protect herself. He was going upstairs to take care of the other brother. Standing up for the first time in a while did not feel too good, it took him a second to orient himself. He was dizzy and sore. But he needed to push through, he was so close to getting them out of here. All he had to do was take on one last guy. All of his training, in the Rangers and CPD, brought him to this point. One more guy.</p><p>He snuck up the steps and managed to surprise the other brother who was on the phone. After a battle, Jay ended up stabbing him in the stomach, taking him down. He let out a sigh of relief as he leaned over his body. He thought he was dreaming when he heard another voice call out for him.</p><p>“JAY! Jay, are you okay?” Hailey practically screamed from the doorway. She rushed to his side, reaching out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, giving him a squeeze.</p><p>He was confused though, he wasn’t sure if this was actually real. He was still looking down at the body beneath him until he heard her again.</p><p>“Hey, Jay, are you okay?” She mumbled softer this time, her voice was calm and soothing. He looked up and made eye contact with her and he knew. She was real. Her big tear-filled blue eyes were staring back at him, her face was close to his, looking him up and down. He relaxed for the first time since this ordeal happened. He was safe. She was here, his partner, his Hailey. The look they shared was intense, like it was just the two of them in the room. How it always was. <br/>Her hand was still rubbing his shoulder, she was shocked by how much blood was on his face and his shirt. She gently touched the back of his head, he winced. She was trying to figure out where he was hurt, turns out it was in a lot of places. But he was okay.</p><p>“Okay, okay. Shh you’re okay Jay, I’m here”, she kept repeating as she saw him start to process what was happening. The blood was dried in his hair on the back of his head, but still fresh in other spots. She didn’t know where it was coming from. And his eye. He had to turn his head pretty far just to really see her. He started to say something to her but she was still trying to help him. Then he cut her off, almost not believing the words out of his own mouth. He thought about what he would say to her for hours, and all he managed to come out with was, “I need to go help Angela.” She looked at him distraught, like she didn’t want to let him out of her sight again. But she was in a form of shock too, a false sense of security that she had found him alive and mostly well. They would have their talk later, they needed to get out of here first. So she stayed there, in a knelt position and watched him stand up, and stumble back down the stairs. As quick as their reunion had happened, it was over. She sent a message over the radio to send ambulances. She had no idea what was coming next. She would think about what she could have done differently for hours to come.</p><p>She was in the middle of requesting assistance and getting in touch with the team when she heard it. The distinct sound of a gunshot from the basement she just saw her partner walk down towards. She immediately ran down the steps, heart pounding in her ears, her adrenaline going a mile a minute yelling out for Jay. She heard him before she saw him, crying and gasping for air. Her blood ran cold.</p><p>“No, no, no”, she mumbled as she looked around the room trying to figure out how this had happened. Then she saw Angela, lying down with a gun sprawled out next to her. </p><p>“YOU BITCH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Hailey couldn’t control herself at this point. She kicked the gun away from Angela, not even bothering to check if she had a pulse, she didn’t care. She knew that was against protocol, but she thought to hell with protocol right now. She rushed back to Jay’s side, putting pressure on his chest.</p><p>Her eyes went wide seeing where Angela had shot him. He didn’t have a vest on. This was real this time. She tried to blink profusely to clear the tears in her eyes so she could really look at Jay.</p><p>“Jay, stay awake, stay with me”, she begged him as she watched him struggle to keep his eyes open. He likely had a punctured lung, she was praying that was it, but she didn’t like where the bullet hole was on his chest. She couldn’t tell if there was an exit wound. His lips were already turning blue. She weighed her options, if he blacked out- should she start CPR? Wasn’t exactly how she figured the first time her lips would meet his, but this was serious. She decided against it since he was still fighting.</p><p>“I already called an ambulance, we’re getting out of here. Help is on the way alright?” She continued talking to him to try and keep him alert, but he was losing a lot of blood.</p><p>At some point, Adam, Voight and Kevin came downstairs. She must have called for them, but she didn’t remember doing that. </p><p>Kevin sprinted back outside to direct the paramedics in.</p><p>“Hailey, what happened?! Jay, buddy…?” Adam said with a rare showing of emotion in his voice too as he came closer to the two of them and realized how serious this was. Even Voight looked several shades paler.</p><p>Hailey couldn’t move her hands, but she motioned towards Angela. If they could have taken a picture right there of Voight’s face. The look of pure hatred and disgust- it was worth a thousand words.</p><p>“I’ll deal with her later”, he said coldly. Adam and Hailey continued to talk to Jay, who was in and out of consciousness. Hailey was still crying, her hands shaking with his blood all over them. Seeping out through the cracks of her fingers, she couldn’t contain it. Voight and Adam weren’t trying to stop her, they knew nothing they could say right now would help. The cruel irony, how close she had been to finding him. Little did they know, that’s not what had happened and Hailey would come undone with guilt about it later.</p><p>“Hai-Hail”, Jay kept trying to choke out with his eyes closed. The sound of his voice was foreign to her, she was in a complete panic that she just stared at him. </p><p>Voight and Adam were watching this unfold in front of their eyes, completely terrified. Jay was using his last breaths to try and say her name, that obviously meant something to him. Hailey was just hovering there, sitting over top of him, frozen in place not responding to him, until Adam jumped in.</p><p>“Jay, Hailey’s here, she’s right here man, look- open your eyes”, he said trying to alert the two of them to each other. As much as he didn’t want to think this way, this could really be it. If this was Jay’s last moments with them, he wanted Hailey to see that he cared so deeply for her. He was literally bleeding out, and all he was trying to say was his partner’s name. Hailey quickly snapped out of it once she heard Adam say that.</p><p>“I’m right here Jay, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. I’m going where you go”, she managed to get out tearfully. Jay’s eyes popped open just enough when he heard her say his line, his lips curling up into a small smile. Voight and Adam exchanged a small look, clearly something she said resonated with Jay, enough to keep him with them.</p><p>“That’s good Hailey, try to keep him awake, ambulance is less than a minute out”, Voight reassured her, fearing for his detectives. Jay tried to say something else to her, but his words weren’t coming out. She nodded at him, giving him a look that only he understood. Hailey felt his hand come up and hold onto her thigh, aware enough that she wasn’t able to move her hands from his chest to hold him back, though she desperately wanted to. His one good eye went wide, the pain was unbearable, as his hand dug into Hailey’s leg.</p><p>“I know Jay, I know. Don’t talk alright, just try to stay awake. I’m right here, I’m not leaving you”, she said while trying to comfort him in any way that she could without moving her hands. He nodded ever so slightly and didn’t care that he was holding onto his partner who was straddled on top of him in front of Voight and Adam. If this was it, he wanted Hailey to know that he loved her. The look on her face told him that she did. Nothing else mattered for now.</p><p>The paramedics arrived, quickly packing Jay up onto a stretcher and getting him back upstairs. Hailey helped carry an end, talking to him the whole way, trying to think of anything and everything that might keep him awake. She was running on autopilot, pulling herself together to be brave and calm for her partner who had a long fight ahead of him.</p><p>Voight ushered them through, putting a comforting hand on Hailey’s back. She nodded, and without looking hopped into the back of the ambulance with Jay. The doors were quickly slammed shut and they raced to Med. The whole ordeal lasted less than five minutes, but it felt like an hour. Hailey was nervously watching the paramedics work on Jay, cutting open his shirt, attaching a heart monitor and IV’s and checking readings constantly. The dark spot on his shirt where the bullet had entered was bright red against his chest now covered in gauze. It didn’t look like there was an exit wound. She wasn’t sure if that was worse. But Hailey could tell by the paramedics face that this wasn’t good. Hell, she had seen enough of these to know this wasn’t good. But she couldn’t think like that. She finally took Jay’s hand in hers, he felt cold and clammy. Signs of shock, she rationally thought. But to her, the fear was there that Jay was giving up. She squeezed his hand, trying to tell him she was there, and look for any signs of life, but they didn’t come.</p><p>“Jay, please”, she pleaded quietly. “You’re going to be okay, we’re almost at Med.”</p><p>Then it dawned on her, they were going to Med. Will. Selfishly, she had been thinking of herself through this, but what about Will. He didn’t even know Jay was missing. What was it going to do to him to see his brother rolled into the emergency department like this? They had failed Will, but most of all- she he had failed Will. She was supposed to keep his brother safe. And now this. He had a bullet in his chest, was choking on his own blood, and his face was swollen to an unrecognizable level. She started hyperventilating, should she tell Jay right now? Tell him she loved him? What if this was their last moments together. She was about to have a full on panic attack, to the point that the paramedic had asked her if she was okay. Then she felt Jay’s hand squeeze back, very weakly, but it was there, almost as if he knew she was losing control. I’m still here Hailey, is what she imagined that meant. She wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned over him again. His one eye was open just a crack. She thought she saw a smirk from under the oxygen mask. She gently placed her other hand over his forehead, and held it there. He looked at her once more before slipping away again.</p><p>“Stay with me Jay”, was all he could hear through the fog. He was out of it, but he could pick out her voice anywhere. He felt her holding his hand, and touching his face and he tried to smile. In any other circumstance, he would welcome her touch like this. His vision was blurry, and there was this pain in his chest. But he felt strangely calm, despite feeling so tired and cold. He was ready to accept whatever came next.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Like I've been asleep for a year</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 10</p><p>The ride to Med was a complete blur. Hailey was trying to keep Jay awake as he drifted in and out. He was so pale, he had lost so much blood already. Next thing she knew the paramedics were rushing her out of the back followed by Jay on a stretcher. She caught a glimpse of Will’s red hair poking out amongst the crowd of people waiting to intake Jay. Voight must have called ahead. He looked scared. He made brief eye contact with her, she was sure she looked scared too.</p><p>Jay was quickly taken in to the emergency department, stabilized and sent off to surgery. Hailey was just standing there in the middle looking lost, staring down at her hands that were covered in her partner’s blood. She began to feel faint and thought she might pass out when she felt a strong hand on her arm and back.</p><p>“Hailey?” She recognized Will’s voice and turned to face him.</p><p>“Hailey? What happened? Are you okay?” He asked her, staring at all of the blood on her. When she didn’t respond, she saw his eyes slowly piece together that it wasn’t her blood on her hands and his face sunk a little. She felt his pain deep in her soul. But he quickly collected himself, trying to focus on things that were in his control.</p><p>“He’s in good hands now Hailey, why don’t we get you cleaned up”, Will said calmly. Way more calm than she expected. I guess this is his doctor brain kicking in, trying to compartmentalize the situation, she thought. Even though it was his brother he just saw bleeding out with a gunshot wound to the chest. She shuddered and shook herself out of her own daze, nodding at Will who was trying to help her.</p><p>He slowly walked with her to the nurse’s station so she could get cleaned up, keeping an eye on her as she looked pale as well. She had obviously been crying too. She hadn’t said a word to him the whole time he was with her. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.</p><p>“I’m sorry Will”, she finally choked out as she was standing over the sink taking deep breaths.</p><p>Will immediately felt a twinge of guilt, Hailey blamed herself for this, of course. But knowing his brother, Jay likely got himself into a mess and his partner tried to get him out of it like she always does. Only this time it didn’t go so well. He didn’t really need the whole story right now, or want it, frankly. They needed to focus on Jay. </p><p>“Whatever happened, it’s not your fault Hailey”, Will told her. The look on her face told him that she needed that reassurance. A small tear slid down her cheek as her bottom lip started to quiver. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and let her take a deep breath before talking again.</p><p>“Dr. Marcel is our top surgeon. I saw his vitals before they took him up. He’s lost a lot of blood, but the bullet didn’t hit anything major. They seemed optimistic.”<br/>“Optimistic?” Hailey spat out, her sharp tongue took Will by surprise. Her face softened with regret right after.</p><p>“I’m sorry, it’s just. Will… he was bleeding so much, he couldn’t breathe on the way here. How are you so calm right now?! His hands were so cold”, she practically whispered, looking down at the floor. She didn’t see the slight raise of Will’s eyebrow at the hand holding admission.</p><p>“Jay’s a fighter Hailey. He’s going to pull through, you have to keep thinking that”, Will replied, but deep down felt really uneasy about his brother. This wasn’t just another sprain or minor bump, Jay really was in serious condition. </p><p>She nodded tearfully, trying to keep it together. Why should she be crying when his own brother wasn’t even losing his cool? She took a minute and collected herself.</p><p>“Why don’t you go out to the waiting room, I’ll go see if I can get an update on Jay okay?” He guided her back to the hallway towards the ED. She was grateful for Will in this moment, keeping her grounded. Calm, strong, sweet Will.</p><p>Hailey sat down by herself in the waiting room, as she watched it slowly fill up with the rest of Intelligence and what seemed like half of the Chicago police department. This is what usually happens when an officer is injured on the job, but it being Jay this time, didn’t feel real to her. She sat there looking at the floor until she felt Vanessa’s presence, attempting to cheer her up with a coffee.</p><p>“Habit?” Rojas tried cautiously, trying to make a Jay joke from a few weeks before.</p><p>Hailey forced a smile and said thank you, but put the drink on the ground. Unable to stomach much right now.</p><p>The rest of the unit came around to her, each putting a hand on her back letting her know they were there. It felt like an eternity had passed when Hailey saw Will walk through the sliding doors. She stood up quickly, instantly feeling the blood drain from her face. This is not where you lose your partner, this is not where you lose another partner, she kept telling herself. She tried to read his body language, facial expressions, anything to give a clue about Jay’s condition, but she was having a hard time focusing.</p><p>What Will said was a blur, essentially it was still touch and go, Jay had lost a lot of blood. He looked more upset now, that made the knot in Hailey’s throat much worse. Adam reached out to give him a hug. It was all they could do for now. Wait.</p><p>XX</p><p>The rest of the unit was called to a case by the Superintendent. Voight was not happy about that, given the situation with Jay. But duty called. No one even asked Hailey if she was coming with them, they knew she was going to stay at the hospital and wait for news on Jay. They just quietly left and told her they would be back to check in. She nodded and settled in to her seat, alone. </p><p>In a way she was grateful for the quiet time. Even though the waiting room was full with her other colleagues, she felt very much in her own world. Thinking about what she would say to Jay when he woke up. Many of the police officers waiting around her had begun to trickle out. She was getting increasingly anxious again until she saw Vanessa walk through the doors of the ED.</p><p>“Hey, how are you?” Hailey stood up to greet and hug her roommate. </p><p>“I’m alright”, Hailey lied.</p><p>“I got you some gyros from your favourite Greek restaurant and brought you some clean clothes from the apartment”, she offered, knowing that Hailey would refuse to leave this hospital until Jay was awake, no matter how long it took.</p><p>“Thank you, that’s really sweet of you”, Hailey smiled. Vanessa was quickly growing on her.</p><p>“Any news on Jay?” Vanessa inquired.</p><p>Hailey bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “Not yet”, and let out a big sigh. Rojas nodded and put a hand on her back to comfort her.</p><p>“He’s going to freak out when he wakes up”, Hailey said quietly after a few moments of silence between the roommates.</p><p>Rojas listened intently, she sensed that Hailey was trying to process all of this in whatever way she could. Including talking it out, giving Vanessa some insight on their friendship.</p><p>“The man hates needles. I can’t figure him out”, she said tearfully, with a slight smile on her face. “He’s first through the door, a war vet, but would rather take a bullet than get the flu shot”, she let out a small laugh. Rojas smiled too, but this was hard to watch. She clearly loved her partner, she knew the smallest, most intimate details about him. It hurt seeing Hailey upset like this. </p><p>“Hailey, I’m so sorry. I know how hard this must be for you”, she said calmly.</p><p>“It’s always hard when something like this happens”, Hailey’s walls went right back up after a brief moment of openness. </p><p>Vanessa decided to be bold, and take this moment to say her piece. </p><p>“It’s hard because you love him”, she said confidently. She hasn’t known the two of them for very long, but if she knew anything it was that they loved each other deeply, that much was obvious. </p><p>To her surprise, Hailey’s response was just that. </p><p>“Of course I love him, he’s my partner”, she replied with ease, barely believing that those words came out of her own mouth in front of Vanessa.</p><p>The women took a minute to process what had just happened, both of them sharing the understanding that Hailey loved Jay. Not just as her partner, but as more than that. Vanessa felt like telling her that Jay felt the same way back, she had absolutely no doubts about it. Even if the two of them haven’t talked about this themselves yet. Maybe this would be their wake up call. She had the unique privilege of being Hailey’s roommate, and seeing the two of them interact outside of the district. What other people don’t see. She sees the way they look at each other, make dinner, talk about their good and bad days, and take care of the other if they’re sick or hurt. Their quiet moments together. It was special, there was no denying that.</p><p>Before they could discuss this new development any further, both of their phones started going off. Vanessa had to go, Ruzek had a lead on the case.</p><p>“You go, I’m going to stay”, Hailey forced a smile and motioned towards the sliding doors she was so desperately waiting for answers out of. </p><p>“Call us as soon as you hear”, Rojas told her and left to go back to work. </p><p>It was an agonizing few hours but Hailey finally saw Will walk back through the doors. He had a smile on his face, Hailey let out an audible sigh and put her head in her hands. </p><p>Will sat down next to her to explain to the clearly overwhelmed detective what was going on.</p><p>Bullet injured his shoulder, missed his heart and lungs. It nicked an artery and he lost a lot of blood, but no long-term damage. He’ll be in a sling for a few weeks but will make a full recovery, just has to take it easy. Especially with his head wound too. </p><p>Hailey could see Will’s lips moving, but sort of stopped listening after she heard him say he’ll make a full recovery.</p><p>“Can I see him?” She blurted out.</p><p>“Of course. He’s just being moved from recovery now. Come with me”, Will smiled seeing Hailey’s face light up. She quickly followed him to Jay’s room, but Will stopped her at the door.</p><p>“Now, he’s still out. We gave him something, he was a little bit anxious when he first came to. He’s still in rough shape. He’ll probably be asleep the rest of the day. He’s fine. Everything is going to be good, but he needs some rest. I just don’t want you to be scared if he doesn’t wake up for a while”, Will explained to her in his best doctor voice.</p><p>Hailey almost laughed, leave it to Will trying to be professional right now. </p><p>“That’s okay. I’ll be here when he wakes up, however long it takes”, she replied.</p><p>Will’s turn to give her a cheeky smile, “I know you will.” He went to turn down the hallway to give the two some quiet time before hesitating and turning back around.</p><p>“Oh- one last thing. I saw him while he was waking up in recovery for a few minutes. The first thing he said was Hailey”, Will grinned from ear to ear watching Hailey’s face turn a shade of red he’s never seen before. Satisfaction, he thought.</p><p>Hailey had called the team and told them what was going on, they were all happy to hear that Jay made it through surgery and told her they would be by the hospital later on to check on him. She spent the rest of the day in Jay’s room, just sitting quietly by his bedside, watching his chest rise and fall. He looked banged up, with cuts and bruises all along his face. He looked comfortable, but in a way not himself. She didn’t quite feel like herself either. She was elated that Jay was going to be okay, but wouldn’t feel relief until she saw him awake herself. She desperately wanted to see him open his eyes, so she could tell him how much he meant to her, how scared she was, how she could never do this without him. She gently took his hand in hers. Her eyelids were beginning to feel heavy, and slowly allowed them to shut. She felt something while she was holding his hand again, instead of coldness and fear, this time it was something else. Warmth. </p><p>XX</p><p>She woke up in a cold sweat a while later to the sound of Adam and Kevin’s voices. </p><p>“Oh Jay. He looks really pale”, Kevin murmured. </p><p>“Whoa, Hailey, it’s alright. Jay’s alright. We just came here to check on him”, Adam reassured her, seeing her eyes wide with fear at him hovering over Jay’s bed. She had instantly looked at her partner and then his vitals on the monitor. Her own breathing slowed when she saw Jay still sleeping peacefully.</p><p>Adam looked at her hand intertwined with Jay’s, and she quickly dropped it. </p><p>He knelt down in front of her and set his hands on her knees. Hailey had dropped her face into her own hands, trying to suppress her emotions.</p><p>“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to do that”, he whispered. She knew he understood. </p><p>Kevin watched as this went down, then noticed Jay’s face scrunch up and started to look agitated, like he was in pain. The three of them heard his heart rate increase just in the slightest. It didn’t set off any alarms but it was obvious he was in a bit of distress, even while unconscious.</p><p>That made Hailey sit up straight again.</p><p>“I think he liked you holding his hand Upton”, Kevin tried to make light of the serious situation they were in.</p><p>Hailey forced a smile and cautiously put her hand under his again, allowing herself to be vulnerable just enough in front of Adam and Kev.</p><p>To everyone’s surprise, Jay actually did calm down once Hailey put her hand back over his. She leaned closer to the bed and gently stroked his forehead with her other hand.</p><p>“Shh, it’s okay Jay. You’re okay”, she whispered soothing him as she watched his face relax again, the whimpering stop, and his heart rate slow back down to normal. Adam and Kevin exchanged a look as they watched her, knowing that this was more serious than even they had originally thought.</p><p>What they didn’t know was that Hailey had been doing this for him on and off all night. He wasn’t fully conscious at any point, but had been getting worked up every so often. Will said that was normal, it was his body’s’ unconscious way of communicating pain and discomfort, which hurt Hailey. She hated seeing him in pain like this.</p><p>“Should I go get a nurse? Is he in pain?” Adam asked nervously.</p><p>Hailey looked down at her phone for the time and shook her head. “They were just in about an hour ago, they won’t give him anything again for a while”, she said quietly.</p><p>“Maybe he just needs some love from his partner”, Kev added quietly. “Better you than us”, he joked. Hailey smiled, biting her quivering lip to keep her emotions in check.</p><p>“Do you think he can hear us?” She whispered to them.</p><p>“He might”, another voice piped in from behind them. Will Halstead was standing in the doorway watching his brother’s partner calm him down. “That’s probably why he’s more relaxed when you’re holding his hand. The sound of your voice is the most familiar to him. He knows you’re here”, Will said confidently. He didn’t know for sure that Jay was all that aware right now, but if he had to bet money on anything it was that his brother wanted Hailey here taking care of him more than anyone else, unconscious or not. </p><p>Hailey quickly wiped a tear from the corner of her eye in hopes that the three men didn’t see her. If they did, they didn’t let on. She held his hand a little tighter.</p><p>“How is he Will?” Adam asked.</p><p>“No change”, Will replied.</p><p>“But that doesn’t mean that’s a bad thing”, he quickly added seeing the worried expressions on all of their faces.</p><p>“He just needs time to rest and heal, his body has been through a lot”, Will told them. </p><p>They all nodded and Hailey got up to let Will sit down next to his brother.</p><p>“No it’s okay Hails, you can sit. I can’t stay I have rounds to do, I just wanted to come up here to check on him and make sure he was still doing okay.”</p><p>She smiled at the use of the nickname that only Jay calls her, and sat back down. “When do you think he’ll wake up?” She asked quietly.</p><p>Will shook his head, “I’m not sure. Nothing is keeping him under other than pain meds. He’s breathing on his own, that’s good. On his own time when he’s ready. He’s probably going to be in a lot of pain when he wakes up and be really stubborn about it. Just a fair warning”, he smirked.</p><p>The three of them nodded, Adam watching Hailey as she rubbed the top of Jay’s hand with her thumb the whole time Will was talking. He instantly had déjà vu to when Kim was shot five years ago. They were together then, but that night really put things into perspective for him about his feelings for her. Maybe this was the same situation for Hailey and Jay, two of the most private and stubborn people he knew. Everyone could see how affected she was by this, that was no secret. The real mystery was how much they had really talked about feelings before this, if anything. It was either all or nothing based on her actions. If he had to guess, they hadn’t yet and that’s why Hailey was so worked up, aside from the obvious traumatic experience of losing Jay, finding him, only to nearly lose him for good again.</p><p>Will left the room shortly after, leaving the three members of Intelligence sitting there quietly.</p><p>“Kim and Voight are dealing with Angela as we speak. Rojas and Platt are figuring out what’s going on with Jay…legally”, Adam hesitated seeing Hailey get emotional again. This was all her fault, she could have stopped this.</p><p>“Hailey it’s not your fault. Jay does his own thing, regardless what anyone else tells him. Even you”, Kevin smiled again.</p><p>“I was right there Kev, I got to him first. I saw him, he was okay. Then….he told me he had to go back down to help Angela…I should have stopped him then. He was already hurt…”, she trailed off shaking her head, frustrated with herself more than anything.</p><p>They understood the guilt she must be feeling, they were scared for their friend too.</p><p>“Why don’t you go get some fresh air Hailey, maybe something to eat. I’ll stay here with Jay”, Adam offered.</p><p>“And I’ll go with you, for some company”, Kevin added. They didn’t plan on telling her that Jay could be in some real trouble when he woke up. They were trying to work all that out before he came to. She didn’t need that right now, they knew she was worried sick so she was their priority as much as Jay was hers.</p><p>Hailey thought about it for a second, not really wanting to leave him. But agreed to that. She did need to stretch her legs, and she had lost track of all sense of time and space since being here with him since last night. </p><p>“I’ll even hold his hand if that makes you feel better”, Adam said cheekily, which made Hailey smile for the first time in what felt like forever.</p><p>Kevin and Hailey were quietly sipping coffee on a bench outside when Kev finally decided to speak.</p><p>“I know it’s none of my business but…you and Jay…”, he cautiously proceeded.</p><p>Hailey froze and looked up at him, thankful that Kev was sitting here with her. Other than Jay, she considered Kev her closest friend in the unit. Although Rojas was certainly giving him a run for his money, especially how she had been supporting Hailey this week.</p><p>“Nothings happened”, she confirmed quickly. Kev had a surprised look on his face, either that nothing has happened or that she actually was speaking about this with him. Either way, Hailey kind of chuckled.</p><p>“I know what you’re thinking”, she said. “But it’s not like that with him. After me and Adam, I realized that dating in house is too hard.”</p><p>“Girl do you think I’m stupid? You honestly think comparing you and Ruzek to you and Halstead is the same thing?” His turn to laugh.</p><p>Now Hailey truly looked confused. </p><p>“It’s different with you two. I know that, you know that. I think everyone else on this team knows that, even before he got kidnapped. This just solidified it.” Kev expanded.</p><p>“I would even go as far as saying Kim and Adam is a more accurate comparison to you and Jay.”</p><p>Hailey blushed and Kev wrapped his arm around her.<br/>“It’s okay, your secret is safe with me. And you’re going to get the reunion you two deserve. Not like yesterday. He’s going to need us when he wakes up. But I think he’s going to need and want you the most.”</p><p>Hailey started crying again, hating how emotional she was the last few days. But Kevin made her feel okay to be like this.</p><p>She nodded and sat in silence until her and Kevin’s phones started going off like crazy.</p><p>“Get up here right now”, Adam texted. They both looked at each other and ran back into the hospital, rushing up to the ICU and Jay’s room. Hailey’s heart was thumping in her chest, expecting the worst. Expecting to hear monitors beeping and coding from Jay’s room. But it was silent, which made her even more nervous.</p><p>She turned the corner first before Kevin and she burst into tears when she saw Jay’s green eyes staring back at her.</p><p>“He decided to come to a few minutes ago”, Adam joked. </p><p>Jay couldn’t really talk he was still in a lot of pain.</p><p>“Glad to see you awake man, you scared us”, Adam gave Jay’s leg a pat, and he received a thumbs up. Adam explained that the doctor and nurses had been in, everything was normal. Kevin went over to him too, Hailey still seemed frozen in place at the doorway. All this time she spent wishing for him to open his eyes, and now that it’s happened she didn’t know what to say to him.</p><p>Adam and Kevin saw her hesitation, which was a bit confusing, but made sense for a lot of different reasons. She was scared to lose Jay, that much had been abundantly clear. Now that he was awake, they were going to be forced to finally have that conversation. </p><p>“The first thing he said to me when he woke up was Hailey”, Adam winked at her and motioned for Kev to leave the room and give them some privacy.</p><p>That made her smile as she tried to hold in her tears, remembering that Will told her the same thing hours earlier. Jay must have really known that she was there with him.</p><p>She approached his bedside cautiously, watching his eyes follow her movements.</p><p>“Hey”, she finally whispered, that’s all she could get out. She didn’t want him to see her crying. </p><p>“Hey”, he smiled weakly back at her.</p><p>They didn’t have time to say anything else before Will and April came in. Will’s face lit up and April quickly went over to check Jay’s pain levels. She gave him something to calm down and hung another bag of IV fluids for him. Will was telling him he was so glad he was okay and other things, Hailey had zoned out, just couldn’t take her eyes off her partner. Really seeing him awake and okay. Will’s voice calling her name brought her out of her dream world.</p><p>“Hailey. I said I have to go, I’m being paged, major MVA just came in. I’ll be back up later okay? Try to get some rest Jay.” Will left as quickly as he came, again leaving Hailey and Jay sitting there in silence.</p><p>“Hailey…”, Jay whispered as she came closer to the side of his bed, thinking he needed water or something. Whatever April gave him was starting to take effect and his eyes were becoming heavy again. </p><p>“Say it again”, she said before she could stop herself as he looked back at her confused.</p><p>“My name, I want to hear you say it again”, she said with tears rolling down her face. He clued in this time.</p><p>“Hailey”, he smiled at her, feeling guilty about how worried he must have made her. The last time he said her name it came out as more of a choke and a sob, in the basement of that factory. He saw his partner hovering over him and tried to tell her good-bye with his last breath before he blacked out, trying to memorize her pretty face in case he never opened his eyes again.</p><p>“I’m really happy that you’re awake, you scared me Jay…”, Hailey’s voice broke. </p><p>He started to get emotional too, seeing his Hailey like this. He was so grateful she got to him in the basement when she did, or else things might have turned out differently. She saw him start to get worked up, which made his chest feel worse than it already did. Hailey jumped up to sit next to him on his bed and gently cupped his cheek with her hand, wiping away a few of his errant tears. </p><p>“Whoa, easy Jay. It’s okay. You’ve had surgery, and have stitches in your shoulder and chest. Just try to breathe slowly”, she told him calmly. He couldn’t help but focus on his partner’s soft hand grazing his cheek either.</p><p>The crying stopped, which allowed him to focus on his breathing. Hailey didn’t pull her hand away like he thought she would. This was the most she had ever touched him. It felt right. He felt her hand on his good shoulder as he tried to control the pain he was feeling.</p><p>“April gave you something for the pain, it should kick in any second”, she told him.</p><p>“I hope so”, he said hissing through gritted teeth.</p><p>“I know you’re not feeling good right now, but you’re going to be alright. The bullet grazed an artery, and went through your shoulder, you lost a lot of blood. But they were able to fix everything”, she reached over and grabbed the cup of water sitting next to his bedside. She held the straw up to his face, helping him take a few slow sips. He sank back into the bed afterwards, letting out a pained sigh.</p><p>“Hurts…”, was all he managed to get out. Hailey’s heart flip flopped in her chest. This was Jay, her partner, lying here after getting kidnapped and shot. Of course he was in pain, and it was hard watching him struggle.</p><p>“I know Jay, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry”, Hailey tearfully said, apologizing for more than his discomfort as she watched him cry out in agony again, his body heaving trying to bypass the burning sensations coursing through his veins. His eyes weren’t even open, he was just trying to breathe through it long enough for the pain meds to kick in. He didn’t need to look at Hailey to ask her the next thing. He reached out and rested his hand on her thigh. </p><p>Hailey was trying to make him more comfortable by pulling the blanket up. When she felt him rest his hand on her knee she knew. She knew it was him asking if she was going to stay. </p><p>“How are you feeling now?” She asked him after a few minutes.</p><p>“Not great. Like I’ve been asleep for a year”, he said hoarsely. </p><p>“You needed a little rest”, she told him.</p><p>“Hailey you know I hate hospitals”, he said as he felt the pain relief from the IV drugs wash over him. </p><p>“I do”, she smiled.</p><p>“You gotta get me out of here”, he said half joking half seriously.</p><p>Hailey’s turn to laugh. “Hmm, no. Not optional. You’re staying.”</p><p>“Does the spoon feeding me soup offer still stand though? Might need it after the week I’ve had,” He asked groggily, with a small grin on his face.</p><p>She flashed her dimples at him. “I will spoon feed you whatever you want.” That made Jay laugh a little, then regret it as he felt the burning in his chest again. Hailey was right back there for him, setting her hand on top of his.</p><p>“Shh, just rest, I’m not going anywhere. And of course I’m going to take care of you. As long as you need it okay?” She said seriously. She watched him smile and nod, and then his eyes started to roll back. </p><p>“There, that’s it”, she said softly as she gently stroked his forehead with her other hand.</p><p>His last move before succumbing to the sleep his body was craving was to reach his hand out, weakly hoping that she would grab it. </p><p>She smirked, realizing that he must have known she had been sitting here holding his hand all night.</p><p>She slowly reached her hand out and ran her thumb over the back of his palm before she intertwined the rest of their fingers together. She saw his lips curl up into a grin as she felt him squeeze her hand back, like how she had been squeezing his all night.</p><p>“Close your eyes, I’m right here”, she whispered as she pulled her chair closer.</p><p>He nodded with his eyes shut, hearing the sound of her voice was comforting to him. So was her warm hand in his. And her other one that was running her fingers through his hair. He leaned into her hand that was pressed against his face, wanting to soak up as much physical contact with her as possible. </p><p>“We’ll be alright”, was the last thing he heard before he slipped back into darkness. Once Jay was out again, Hailey bent down and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead.</p><p>Kim and Voight stood on the other side of the window of Jay’s ICU room, watching this whole thing go down without their knowledge. Hailey keeping watch over Jay so tenderly almost made Kim’s heart burst. Hailey was never this openly emotional, ever. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, or maybe it was just the fact that the two of them were finally realizing what everyone else has known all along. But this was just straight up heart-warming. The way Jay reached out for Hailey when he was in pain, the way Hailey was able to calm him down, telling him she wasn’t going anywhere, and that she would take care of him. Even Voight looked a little misty eyed at their reunion. If that didn’t tell the whole story, she wasn’t sure what did.</p><p>“Come on Burgess, let’s give them some privacy. Jay needs rest right now, we’ll come back later”, Voight put a straight face back on and ushered Kim away from the door.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Hailey is his safe place</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 11 </p><p>7x10 Part 2…The real missing moments</p><p>Voight waited until much later that night to come back and check on Jay. His two detectives were right where he left them. Jay was sleeping in his bed, Hailey was passed out in a recliner next to him. Their hands had fallen apart, although clear that at some point they had been together. Voight silently pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Jay, for the first time really taking in his injuries. The gunshot was the most serious of course, but everything else had kind of been skimmed over. What he had endured up until they found him. His face was swollen and bruised, his lip was split open. The back of his head had a few staples in it, that was likely sore as well. He was proud of Jay. He didn’t always show him that, but he was. Jay had been in several hairy situations over the years, but he always managed to keep his wits about him. This time he went a bit off the rails, but for good reason. Voight knew this whole Marcus West thing got to him, he should have been more careful and been watching him. Certain things triggered Jay. Hailey usually watches out for him, clearly they have something special going on here. He wasn’t sure what that was exactly, or if he really wanted or needed to know. But after Erin left, and seeing what that did to Jay amongst other things, Hailey was the best thing for him. That he was sure of.</p><p>Things were quiet in his room for a while, Voight threw a blanket over Hailey, who was out cold. She had been by Jay’s side immediately after surgery and not left the hospital once. There was something admirable about her loyalty to Jay. After all these years and all the stunts he’s pulled, Hailey has always stuck by him. He would never forget the look on Hailey’s face when she came out of that basement carrying Jay onto the stretcher and jumping into the back of the ambulance with him yelling at him to stay with her. It was haunting. The usual cool, calm, collected and stoic Hailey had disappeared and she had shown her true emotions. He had goose bumps just thinking of the pure terror on her face, and in her voice.</p><p>Voight was starting to doze off himself under the dim yellow lights of the ICU room when he heard Jay start to stir in his bed. At first he just thought he was coming around or moving to a more comfortable position. But then the crying started. It was silent at first, his face the only telltale sign that he was hurting. But after a few minutes it progressed to whimpering, and tears rolling down his face. Voight froze at first, he wasn’t sure what to do. </p><p>“Shh, it’s alright kid”, Voight tried to calm him down, his inner father figure taking over. Right now Jay wasn’t his employee. </p><p>That didn’t work and Jay had started to heave, full on sob, all while keeping his eyes closed. He figured he was just having a bad dream, the nurses told him that he was being kept comfortable, the pain meds were working. He looked around and everything seemed to be alright physically, as much as to be expected. He had an ache in his own chest hearing Jay cry like this, and quickly felt it intensify as soon as he heard Jay crying out for his partner.</p><p>“Hai-ley, Hai-ley”, Jay whimpered, his bottom lip quivering so hard it forced a few tears to roll down his cheek. Voight was out of his element here so he decided to wake her up.</p><p>“Upton, Upton. Hailey”, Voight shook her shoulder gently.</p><p>The sound of a familiar gruff voice whispering her name woke Hailey up from a deep sleep. She was confused at first, but then quickly remembered where she was.</p><p>“Umm, hey boss”, Hailey rubbed her eyes, not sure how she was going to play this. One look at Voight’s face told her he didn’t really care about that right now.</p><p>“Jay’s been crying for you”, Voight said in a strangely calm, compassionate way. Hailey would have expected a weird undertone to that in any other circumstance. It was as if he was genuinely asking for her help, for her to take the lead, as if she held the key to get Jay to stop crying. The truth was Hailey had no idea how to help Jay, well she sort of had an idea.</p><p>Hailey got up from her recliner, peering around Voight to see what was going on, even though she had a feeling she already knew.</p><p>She approached his bedside slowly, although doubting that he would actually freak out given the drugged state he was in.</p><p>“Jay…Jay, it’s alright. I’m right here”, she whispered, feeling a bit strange doing this in front of their boss. But alas, here they were. Any semblance of normalcy was out the door for the last few days anyway, so Hailey decided to take her free pass and run with it.</p><p>She gently sat at the edge of his bed next to him, cautiously putting a hand on his good shoulder. Voight just shuffled out of her way, standing at the edge of the bed, looking uncharacteristically nervous. </p><p>“What should we do? Think I should grab a nurse?” He whispered.</p><p>“I think he’s just having a bad dream. He can get pretty worked up sometimes.” She paused as she realized what just accidentally came out of her mouth.</p><p>Voight heard exactly what she said, crystal clear, but decided to pretend not to. </p><p>“Just give him a second, this usually calms him down”, she revealed, quickly deflecting her accidental admission. He continued to cry and mumble for her in his sleep, as she stroked the back of his hand with her thumb, and the other hand grazing his cheek.</p><p>The Hai-ley, Hai-ley cries were breaking her heart, she hoped he would come out of this soon.</p><p>“I’m right here Jay, you’re safe, shhh, see, right here”, she squeezed his hand softly and continued to soothe him. </p><p>It took a little longer than usual, but Jay eventually calmed down enough to stop crying in his sleep. His whimpering turned into soft sighs, his body trying to fight the nightmare on top of other things. Crying out her name was new though. If this wasn’t such a serious situation with him lying in a hospital bed post surgery, that would have made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.</p><p>Hailey turned around to see Voight pop back in with a cool washcloth. </p><p>“Justin used to like a cold towel when he was feeling sick…”, he trailed off. Clearly he was trying his best here to help Jay, Hailey’s heart swelled at the mention of his own son.</p><p>“Thanks Sarge”, Hailey took it from him and lightly dabbed it around his face to cool him off before setting it across Jay’s forehead.</p><p>Jay started to come out of his dream and back to reality after feeling the coolness across his face. His eyes fluttered open a few times, before getting into focus and seeing Hailey looking straight at him. </p><p>“Hey”, he cleared his throat.</p><p>“Hey”, she said quietly. He recognized the feeling in his body, despite the pain medication he was on, he knew the anxious and feverish feeling all too well. Before he said anything else he looked to Hailey’s left and saw Voight standing there too. </p><p>“Sarge”, Jay greeted him, with a smile.</p><p>“Hey kid. How are you feeling?” Voight smiled.</p><p>“Been better. These pain meds are giving me bad dreams”, he kept glancing at Hailey, who knew the truth. Voight knew too, but he let the lie go.</p><p>“That’s alright, just try to rest. Everything is going to be okay”, Voight replied.</p><p>Jay tried to ask him about Angela and everything else going on, but Voight stopped him.</p><p>“Don’t worry about that right now, I’m handling it. Just focus on getting yourself better. Take all the time you need. Hailey, you’re going to take some time too, you’ve both been through a lot these last few days.” He addressed the partners as a unit, because in reality that’s what they were. He knew that Hailey wouldn’t be focused if she was at work while Jay was recovering in the hospital and at home. The least he could do would be to give her some time to be with her partner after what he just witnessed her do for him in his sleep.</p><p>She attempted to reject that offer, mumbling something about the team needing her, them being down one already. But Voight wasn’t having any of it. </p><p>“Save it Upton”, he put his hand out. “Take care of your partner, and yourself. That’s an order.”</p><p>Hailey glanced at Jay who had a slight smirk in the corner of his lip. Her dimple popped out, “Thanks Sarge.”</p><p>Voight left the room, seeing Will Halstead standing outside.</p><p>“Hey Will. He seems to be doing alright, aside from a bad dream.”</p><p>“Hailey calmed him down?” Will said, not so much a question, more of a statement.</p><p>Voight nodded suspiciously. “She seems to have the magic touch.”</p><p>“There isn’t really much that helps this, except her I think”, Will admitted quietly. </p><p>“They are quite the pair”, Voight confirmed, for the first time actually realizing what had been blossoming right under his nose for who knows how long.</p><p>“She doesn’t know this fully…but the last thing he said before losing consciousness and surgery was “Please Will, I want Hailey. Tell her I’m sorry”, Will laughed, half jealous and emotional thinking of that. Jay was scared when he said it, asking for the one person who was a comfort to him.</p><p>“Guess I’m chopped liver. I asked him this morning what he remembered and he doesn’t seem to recall that, probably wouldn’t admit it to me even if he did though.” Will laughed alongside Voight.</p><p>Voight chuckled but paused when he saw Will get a little choked up.</p><p>“All he wanted was her, even while he was lying there bleeding out. He thought he was going to die and he wanted to make sure she knew…”, Will shook his head and cut himself off.</p><p>“Hailey is his safe place”, Voight stated, in a strange honest way. Verbalizing it was bizarre for him, but once the words spilled out of his mouth he realized they were true.</p><p>Will blinked rapidly and realized what he just insinuated to Jay’s boss. </p><p>“I know what you’re thinking, but I think this is different now”, the older Halstead tried to back track.</p><p>Voight voiced what Will was implying. “When Jay was with Erin, I hated it. Even when I did come around to the idea, I still wasn’t too keen on it. At the time, I figured it was just because it was Erin, a daughter to me really. But looking back now, maybe it’s because I knew deep down they just weren’t right for each other.”</p><p>Will looked surprised by this information, not sure how much he should really be saying about Hailey and Jay. He was pretty sure Hailey and Jay hadn’t even talked about Hailey and Jay. </p><p>“And you’re right, I think this is different now. Even if they don’t know it yet”, Voight replied, putting an end to the conversation. Will nodded and smiled.</p><p>Voight yawned and checked his watch. 3:30 am.</p><p>“Alright I am out of here doc, call me if anything changes”, Voight waved goodbye and left Will standing outside of Jay’s room. He entered quietly, seeing that they had both fallen back asleep again, this time Hailey was holding more of his brother in her arms.</p><p>Thursday</p><p>Later the next day, Jay was finally cleared to go home from the hospital. Dr. Marcel made it clear that he would feel better if he stayed another night so they could monitor him, but was comfortable enough with his progress that he didn’t think he was in any danger. It didn’t help that Jay had been constantly bugging the staff the entire day to send him home, trying to convince everyone that he was well enough. He had made significant strides compared to where he was the day before after all. Two days in the hospital was two too many.</p><p>Will stood outside as a nurse helped Jay get changed into regular clothes, much to his resistance. But he agreed he would rather a nurse than his brother, so this was their compromise. Hailey had left the hospital earlier that morning to head back into work to finish up a case the team was working on. She was reluctant to go, but Jay told her he was fine and that she didn’t need to stay another day. She was excited when he called her telling her he would be released later that night.</p><p>It took a bit longer than he anticipated but Jay was finally dressed and feeling a bit more like himself, although his shoulder was still aching.</p><p>He walked out looking smugly at Will who rolled his eyes.</p><p>“You do realize the only reason you’re being discharged today and not tomorrow is because I know Hailey is staying with you right?” <br/>Jay pondered that for a second, he assumed that she was staying with him. He just didn’t realize Will did. “Who said she’s staying with me?” Jay laughed.</p><p>“Don’t even try me with that look. Hailey didn’t leave here once”, Will’s turn to tease.</p><p>“Ya, ya. I know. I’m going to take it easy I promise”, Jay told his brother.</p><p>“You better, I’m serious Jay. You just had surgery. You aren’t out of the woods yet. And I know you, you have a tendency to over-do things.”</p><p>Their conversation was interrupted when Hailey walked into the room, smiling seeing her partner standing on his own two feet.</p><p>“Hailey, I left you a bag and some instructions for him later okay? He’s going to fight you on it but you need to keep him in bed for the rest of the day. He can start moving around more tomorrow, but he still needs to take it easy. You can call me if you have any questions, or if anything happens tonight”, Will told her before giving them some privacy.</p><p>“Hey”, she said as she walked over to him. She had been working herself up the whole drive over to finally come clean and tell Jay how she really felt about him. Seeing him standing there made her heart jump out of her chest.</p><p>“Hey”, he said while tightening his sling.</p><p>“I brought you your badge and undercover phone from before…”</p><p>“Before it all went to hell?” Jay tried to make light of the situation.</p><p>“Ya something like that”, she grinned.</p><p>He was struggling to put his own jacket on so she immediately set her things down and went to give him a hand. She gently pulled his coat over his injured shoulder, adjusting it so he was warm enough, like it was second nature for her. She lingered for just a second extra, briefly inhaling his scent. She didn’t see the smile he had on his face while she was helping him. He would hate it if anyone else was doing this for him, it was hard for him to accept help- but not from her. She was so tender about it, he felt a rush of emotions before he heard her speak.</p><p>“Listen um…when you were in surgery, no one knew what was going to happen”, Hailey stuttered out as Jay listened to her intently.</p><p>“And, and it made me realize that I wanted to tell you something”, she looked at him so genuinely, the warmth in her eyes and familiar smile made it seem like he’s known her all his life.</p><p>“Okay”, he smiled back at her, tempting her to say what he could see was just on the tip of her tongue. He wanted her to say it, so badly. He was scared to say it first. He thought it might actually happen for a split second, before his undercover phone started to ring. He cursed it silently. </p><p>The words were on the tip of her tongue, how easy it would be to have them roll off. But she held back. She loved Jay, a part of her always knew that. But today made her come to terms with the feelings that she was attempting to keep deep down.</p><p>Those feelings were temporarily put on hold when she saw him reach for his phone.</p><p>“Sorry”, he apologized to her for turning his attention away, but he could see that the moment had passed. </p><p>“What were you going to say?” He tried to encourage her to continue, but he could see her pull back. </p><p>“I’m just really glad you’re okay”, she covered it up, but her face told him there was more. There was this sudden distance put between them again, just when he thought it was closing for good. He felt the literal and figurative space between them, the space where so much love could be. Hailey went to go pull the car around and he was left standing there with a deep pain in his chest, not from the surgery, but that of regret.</p><p>Hailey pursed her lips on the way back to her car, trying to get what just happened out of her head. This wasn’t the right time. Maybe the phone call was a sign from the universe to hold back. In reality, she held back because she was scared that he wasn’t ready, that she wasn’t ready either. How it would inevitably change things between them forever. </p><p>She had to quickly put that out of her mind and switch gears. Regardless of the near love confession, she still had to look after Jay tonight, there was no time for awkwardness. She knew he really should be staying in the hospital another night but he basically signed himself out. That meant he actually would need some care and Will was trusting her big time on this one.</p><p>Hailey was ready for him at the exit, smiling as Will pushed him through the doors in a wheelchair, which Jay scoffed at. He was reminded that this was hospital policy and he had to be pushed whether he liked it or not. Truth be told, he was feeling a bit weak after everything, so being pushed around wasn’t so bad, although he would never admit it.</p><p>Hailey came around and grabbed his hand to help him up out of the wheelchair. Will smiled as he gave Jay a hug and told him he never wanted to see him in his emergency department again.</p><p>“I’ll come by after my shift tomorrow morning”, he whispered to Hailey, who at this point he just assumed was staying at his brother’s place with him, maybe even taking him to her house who knows. Even Voight, the ultimate man of few words, confirmed that was going on.</p><p>She nodded and helped Jay into her car and buckled his seatbelt before getting into the driver’s side, pulling off and away from Med.</p><p>“I’m glad to be going home Hails”, Jay said wearily through a yawn.</p><p>“I know you are, I’m happy too Jay. Close your eyes okay”, she smiled as she watched him drift off for the drive home.</p><p>After arriving back at his apartment, the two of them made a slow walk up to the elevator and down the hall. She was trying not to hover and fuss over him, so she stayed far enough back to let him walk by himself but close enough to be there if he was unsteady on his feet. He plopped himself down gingerly on the couch the second he walked through the door. </p><p>“You okay?” Hailey said softly as she crouched down in front of him, and watched him taking deep breaths, his head leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed.</p><p>“Ya”, he finally got out after he composed himself, his head was throbbing. He never thought walking would take this much out of him. She set a hand on his knee.</p><p>“I know. We’ll go slow okay? It’s almost time for some more pain meds, you just have to eat something first. You hungry?” She sensed he was not feeling very well.</p><p>“I could eat”, he said with a small smile on his face.</p><p>“Good. I don’t know what you have here, but I’ll make you whatever you want.”</p><p>“Grilled cheese?” He asked her politely, with a twinkle in his eye.</p><p>Hailey laughed, “Grilled cheese it is.” While she was still bent down she untied his shoes and slid them off for him, he glanced at her with a gaze she couldn’t pin point.</p><p>“What is it?” She asked curiously.</p><p>He hesitated, she could see the vulnerability in his eyes. “You don’t have to do all of this for me Hailey.”</p><p>“Jay…”, she gave him a look telling him he was being ridiculous.</p><p>“You just had surgery yesterday, and need to rest. Please don’t be stubborn, let me help you.” She smiled as she saw him consider her offer, “Besides, how else are you going to bend down to untie your shoes?” </p><p>“Okay you got me there”, he smiled and agreed to accept her help. “But if it’s too much I can call Will”, he added.</p><p>“It’s not too much. You’re my partner, of course I’m going to take care of you. Just relax okay, don’t worry about that.” She said as she went into the kitchen to start on something to eat.</p><p>Leave it to Jay to have the basics only for grilled cheese. She was back with sandwiches for the two of them in no time, giving Jay some of his independence back since he was able to feed himself. Although, at this point she was sure he wouldn’t object to her spoon feeding him some soup, maybe tomorrow.</p><p>“Thanks Hailey”, he said after he was finished with his food. </p><p>“No problem. Do you want some painkillers?” Hailey barely finished her sentence before Jay immediately said yes. Hailey raised her eyebrows at that.</p><p>“My head really hurts, and my shoulder is throbbing”, he explained. </p><p>Jay never admitted when he wasn’t feeling good, the more she looked at him, the paler he seemed. So he must actually be having a rough time.</p><p>“Okay, ya of course. Be right back.”</p><p>He nodded and did some more deep breathing. Hailey returned to the couch with his medicine. He took them gratefully and after a few minutes was his chatty self once again. Hailey chuckled, Jay high on pain killers was a mood.</p><p>“Why don’t you go lie down in your bed Jay? You need to sleep,” She suggested. He made a pouty puppy dog face at her as she helped him off the couch, put a hand around his lower back and started walking him to his room. </p><p>She got him settled in his room, although he kept insisting he was fine and wanted to stay up to watch a movie. </p><p>“We can watch a movie in here”, she said motioning to the TV in his bedroom, he raised his eyebrows provocatively when she suggested she would be joining him in his bed.</p><p>“Get your mind out of the gutter Halstead”, she replied, reading his mind, to which they both giggled.</p><p>“I’m still on bed rest Hailey Anne”, he smirked, mocking her.</p><p>“Exactly, and that’s where I intend to keep you”, she said suggestively right back as she propped up his pillows and helped him ease back down into his bed. She gently placed an ice pack under his neck and saw the instant relief from the cold on his face.</p><p>He whispered his thanks. Despite the joking around, he was feeling drained and she knew that. </p><p>“I’ll come back in a bit, just have some things to catch up on”, she whispered as she tucked him into his bed. He nodded and dozed off within a few minutes.</p><p>She tip toed out of the room and shut the lights and the door. She checked her phone, it was just after 8 at night. This day had gone by fast, she was tired too. She figured Jay would be done for the night, she wasn’t going to go in there and disturb him by putting a movie on. So instead, she got to work in his apartment. Cleaning up, trying to make the place feel like home again. She started on some minestrone in the kitchen and checked his fridge and cupboards to see what she needed to pick up at the grocery store tomorrow. No shocker to her at all, it was mostly everything. She laughed at Jay, how he ever survived on his own boggled her mind. </p><p>She checked in on him about half an hour later to take the ice pack off of his neck, he didn’t even flinch when she jostled him slightly. That’s how she really knew he was tired, Jay was the lightest sleeper of all time. Will had texted her to see how he was doing, as did the rest of the team. She replied to each of them, reassuring them all that he was fine and sleeping. His couch and Netflix were calling her name, so she melted into where he was sitting last and dozed off.</p><p>A few hours later, Hailey jumped awake, feeling a rush of panic looking at the time. Jay was still silent in his room, but she needed to give him more medicine. Jay perked up when she opened the door, his pale face telling her it was definitely time for some pain relief, even though she knew he would tell her he was feeling fine.</p><p>“You okay?” She came in with a glass of water.</p><p>Jay grimaced through the pain, “I will be in a second.” He sat up slowly and tried to take the glass, but shrieked when he raised his good arm to grab it. His chest was on fire.</p><p>Hailey sat on the edge of his bed and placed her hand where his were on his ribs, easing him back slowly. </p><p>“You’re okay, I have painkillers for you”, she reassured him. He was starting to tear up again the burning sensation was so severe. She instructed him to open his mouth as she put a few in and helped him take a sip of water. He swallowed them and waited for a minute before letting out a breath, signalling to her that they had kicked in.</p><p>“This is so frustrating”, he said with his eyes still closed.</p><p>“I know, but you’ve made so much progress in just these few days. It’s going to get better I promise. Your body has been through a lot of trauma. Just rest, I’m going to be here to do everything else.”</p><p>“Partner of the year. Who knew, Hailey Upton, live in nurse”, Jay said with a smile.</p><p>Hailey rolled her eyes, his sense of humour was clearly operating fine. </p><p>“Well it was either me or Ruzek and Kev so….figured you wouldn’t want their shitty cooking”, they both laughed.</p><p>“I’ll always pick you, you know that”, he said a bit more seriously.</p><p>“I know you will”, she said softly as she ran her fingers through his hair, watching him lose the battle in staying awake once again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. TLC</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 12</p><p>Once she was sure that Jay was asleep again, Hailey went out into the kitchen to have a bite to eat. She sat on his couch alone, aimlessly scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to take her mind off the events of this week. Before long, she caught her eyelids drooping again, and she wondered what she was going to do for sleep herself. Hailey could barely keep her eyes open, she was tired after this excruciatingly long week. Jay’s apartment was only a one bedroom, and they didn’t really discuss sleeping arrangements. She really should stay on the couch, but the state Jay was in, he might wake up and need her in the middle of the night. It’s not like she hasn’t slept with him in his bed before. Him being injured was justification enough to stay with him. She snuck into his room, giving him a once over and deciding he was okay before moving towards the empty side of his bed.</p><p>She gently crawled under the covers with him, he stirred slightly, but never came to. She was out as soon as her head hit the pillow next to Jay. </p><p>Their peaceful sleep was short lived. Jay woke up about an hour after Hailey had crawled in with him. She felt him move suddenly, startling her. </p><p>“You okay?” She whispered in the darkness, expecting him to tell her he was fine.</p><p>“No…”, he said quietly, sounding defeated. </p><p>That set off alarm bells in her head, so she sat up quickly, turning his bedside lamp on. She squinted, letting her eyes adjust. Jay looked pale, there was no questioning that. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” She asked, doing a quick mental check of his injuries. </p><p>“I just don’t feel good. Everything hurts, I can’t get comfortable to sleep.”</p><p>She winced, feeling sorry for him. He needed sleep, but it was understandable why he couldn’t get himself in a comfortable position. Jay was always a side sleeper, so the sling was really cramping his style.</p><p>“I’m sorry Jay. But Will said you have to sleep propped up like this. At least until your stitches are a little more healed”, Hailey replied.</p><p>“I know. But I hate it.”</p><p>“Is there anything I can do to help you? You can’t have any more painkillers for a few hours” Hailey asked. Jay looked at her somewhat embarrassed.</p><p>“I usually sleep with my shirt off”, he smirked a little watching Hailey’s eyes widen.</p><p>“You should have said something”, she laughed as she rolled out of bed and went over to Jay’s side. </p><p>She pulled the blanket off his chest and helped him lean forward, unclipping his sling from behind his back.</p><p>She gently removed his sling and set it on his night table. The freedom of moving his arm a bit gave him some relief, although he did it through gritted teeth. His arm was stiff.</p><p>“You good?” She asked before continuing. </p><p>“I’m good”, he nodded.</p><p>“Okay, good arm first”, she started pulling his right arm out of his shirt before he could object.</p><p>She paused when she heard him groan as she pulled his shirt over his head and off his injured shoulder.</p><p>“I know, I’m sorry. All done”, she watched him let out a deep breath at that seemingly simple task. He eased back onto his pillows, holding his left arm to his body, enjoying being sling free for a minute.</p><p>It was Hailey’s turn to stop and stare at the bandage covering his shoulder. Covering the soon to be scar that nearly cost him his life. She ran her fingers over his collarbone before she could stop herself. The contact with his bare skin made her shiver.</p><p>“It’s okay Hailey”, Jay said as he watched her mind go back to that basement.</p><p>She quickly shook herself out of her funk and put her focus back to Jay. She was trying not to stare at his sculpted chest, and his abs and the fact that she was going to be sharing a bed tonight with a half naked Jay Halstead. Get a hold of yourself, he’s hurt, she thought.</p><p>“Let’s get your sling back on”, Hailey told him, eliciting another groan from Jay.</p><p>“Alright fine, it was nice having it off though”, Jay said.</p><p>“Nice try, you’re not going to win this one. Will is going to kill me if anything happens to you tonight”, Hailey grinned.</p><p>She placed his sling back on his injured shoulder, putting some facecloths under the straps so they wouldn’t irritate his skin.</p><p>“Thanks Hailey”, Jay said as she sat down on the edge of his bed.</p><p>“Need anything else while I’m up?” She inquired.</p><p>“No I’m good”, he said with hesitation in his voice.</p><p>“What is it Jay?” Hailey prodded, she could tell he wanted to say something else.</p><p>Jay paused and swallowed before gathering the courage to say what he had to say next. He thought back to earlier tonight in his hospital room, Hailey almost confessing to him what he so badly wanted to confess to her. When she pulled back, he understood. But he wanted her to know how much he appreciated her being here for him. If she couldn’t put it into words, he would.</p><p>“Hailey”, he said softly as she tilted her head at him, one of her many small quirks. </p><p>She was trying to read his facial expression but she was confused.</p><p>Jay reached out and gently took a few of her fingers into his own, pausing to see her reaction. He expected her to pull away, but she didn’t, so he continued.</p><p>“You know how important you are to me right?” He blurted out, carefully watching her face, seeing a slight hint of blush appear.</p><p>She didn’t verbally say anything, but she turned her head towards him, looking down at their intertwined fingers and nodded, biting at her lip. He wasn’t fully convinced she did know just how important she really was. </p><p>“About earlier…before leaving the hospital. I just wanted to tell you…to tell you that I don’t know what I would do without you Hails, really.”</p><p>She gave him a soft smile this time, her dimples poking out like they were when he first woke up from surgery.</p><p>“I know Jay. Me too”, she whispered quietly. That was all the confirmation he needed. </p><p>Somehow, they had just managed to have that conversation without actually saying those three impending words. Three words that held so much meaning, so much hype, when in reality they found ways to say that to each other ten different ways on a regular basis. They didn’t need to say that to each other to validate their feelings, not yet anyways. For now, they both knew. They were on the same page as always, and Jay felt content with that. </p><p>Hailey lingered there, playing with his fingers that were under hers for a few minutes before checking the time and breaking apart.</p><p>“Jay it’s 3 in the morning. You need to sleep.”</p><p>He sighed. “I’m so tired and sore Hailey. I know you’re going to say I told you so but I think I overdid it today.”</p><p>She smirked at him. “I know you did. You really should have stayed another night in the hospital, but the stubbornness runs deep with you.”</p><p> “Please don’t tell Will”, he pleaded with her.</p><p>“I’m offended, you think I would rat my own partner out?” Hailey pretended to be hurt.</p><p>“No”, Jay rolled his eyes and laughed. “But I also know my brother and he’s going to ask you how I slept.”</p><p>“Well, we can just tell him that you were up here and there but after some TLC from your partner you had a good night’s rest.”</p><p>Jay’s head perked up at that. “What kind of TLC?” He asked curiously.</p><p>Hailey chuckled and stood up, leaving his room for a while. By the time she came back, Jay was still as she left him, this time closing his eyes trying to force himself to sleep. His one eye popped open when he heard her come back into his room.</p><p>In her hands she had a mug full of tea, an ice pack and a hot water bottle. He looked at her suspiciously as she set the mug down next to his bed.</p><p>“For your shoulder”, she gently set the hot water bottle behind his back, hoping that the heat would ease some of his sore muscles. </p><p>“And for your head”, the ice pack went back behind his neck, numbing the growing tension he was feeling inside of his skull.</p><p>“And the tea?” He asked cheekily.</p><p>“Oh the tea is for me”, Hailey replied, watching Jay’s confused face before bursting out laughing.</p><p>“I’m just kidding. It’s chamomile, it will help you sleep”, she gestured that she was going to help him with it, to which he obliged. </p><p>After she helped him take a few small sips, he leaned back into the hot and cold across his body, pausing to reflect on how lucky he actually got. Things could have turned out much differently, been much worse. He could be lying in a hospital bed or morgue, but instead he was lying in his own bed with his partner and best friend taking care of him well into the night. </p><p>“Better?” Hailey asked after he had made it through his tea.<br/>“A little bit”, Jay stifled a yawn. Hailey got up off the edge of his bed and went back to her side. Once he felt her crawl back under the blankets with him, he turned his head to the right, trying to catch her eye. He saw what he normally did with her. Loyalty, calmness, compassion- but most of all right now, exhaustion.</p><p>“You can go to sleep Hailey, I know you’re tired.”</p><p>“I’m going to stay awake as long as you are”, she replied while yawning. She leaned her head back on his headboard, tilting her body so that she was facing his.</p><p>“Maybe I should have stayed one more night”, Jay quietly admitted with a laugh.</p><p>“Wow, Jay Halstead. Never thought I would see the day you admitted Will was right.”</p><p>“I just couldn’t stay there another night”, he replied more seriously.</p><p>She heard the change of tone in his voice, and rolled over so that she was completely facing him now.</p><p>“Why do you hate hospitals so much?” She finally asked, innocently.</p><p>He took a deep breath and gave her a half smile before continuing.</p><p>“Probably because I woke up in one in Germany scared and alone after getting hurt in Afghanistan. I was like that for two weeks. Just a bad experience”, he calmly stated.</p><p>His bluntness surprised her. She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. The idea of Jay lying alone, scared in a hospital in a foreign country made her sad.</p><p>She wiggled a little closer to him. “Well, you aren’t going to be alone this time.”</p><p>He looked up at her and tentatively set his head down on her shoulder. He felt her shoulders relax and her heart beating steadily against his cheek. </p><p>“Am I hurting you?” He asked her.</p><p>“Not at all. Are you comfortable now?” </p><p>“I am actually”, Jay said, nestling his cheek against her soft sweater.</p><p>“Good. Get some sleep okay”, she whispered, accepting that she was going to be sleeping sitting up like him tonight.</p><p>She waited a few minutes but could tell he wasn’t asleep yet. </p><p>“You’re stewing about something”, she heard him say. She cursed him for knowing her thoughts and mannerisms so well. She didn’t reply for a minute, and she felt his good hand reach under the blankets and touch her thigh, sending a jolt of electricity through her body. She felt her eyes fill with tears again unexpectedly, just so grateful that they were here, able to still do this.</p><p>“You scared me Jay”, she said quietly, allowing her vulnerable side to show.</p><p>“I know, I’m sorry Hailey”, he whispered back, rubbing circles on her thigh with his thumb. They did that silently for a while until she felt his hand slide off her leg and she heard a small snore coming from beside her, signalling that he was finally asleep. She smiled softly and allowed herself to doze off once she knew her partner was resting.</p><p>XX</p><p>They slept through the rest of the night without any incidents, although Jay’s internal clock woke him up early once again, though not as early as usual. He felt guilty nudging Hailey awake but he really needed some painkillers. It was about 8:30 by the time they were both awake, Hailey bringing back medicine for him to take. She made a coffee for herself and sat in bed with Jay while he was experiencing his buzz again, laughing at all the goofiness. Her phone started ringing about half an hour later. Trudy and Kim wanted to come pop in for a visit, to which Jay happily agreed.</p><p>“Can you help me get dressed? I don’t want to give them a free show”, Jay asked as Hailey laughed.</p><p>“Of course”, she grabbed a new shirt from his drawer and helped him sit up in bed again.</p><p>“Bad arm first this time”, she warned him, getting a new shirt on proved to be a little trickier than getting one off, but they managed. Both of them finding their groove.</p><p>Once Jay’s sling was back on, Hailey helped him out of bed and walked with him out to the living room. They took it slow, as he did admit he wasn’t feeling very well to her. She propped him up on the couch with some pillows and he gave her a thumbs up for her help. </p><p>Hailey had been busy, Jay realized as he looked around, finding his apartment cleaner than it has been in a while. There was homemade soup on the stove, his dishes were gone, and he could hear that she put a load of laundry in for him. Any other person he worked with doing this for him would be weird, but with Hailey it just felt like a normal routine. </p><p>Trudy and Kim arrived not long after, beaming from ear to ear seeing Jay up and about.</p><p>“Hey Halstead”, Platt greeted him with a rare hug. Kim followed suit, placing a hand on his right shoulder.</p><p>“Good to see you Jay, how are you feeling?” Kim asked.</p><p>Jay hesitated, giving Hailey a side eye glance, but ultimately coming clean.</p><p>“Not feeling that great to be honest, but Hailey’s been taking good care of me.”</p><p>Both women were surprised to hear him admit that as well, looking at Hailey who mouthed, rough night, from afar. They nodded in understanding, before sitting down to visit with Jay. Hailey continued on with what she was doing. </p><p>Kim and Trudy glanced at her then at each other and raised their eyebrows. Hailey doing Jay’s laundry would definitely be something they would discuss with each other on the car ride home. It was sweet, and so domestic of them.</p><p>Jay was chatty and in good spirits, laughing with his colleagues about waking up in the hospital.</p><p>“I was expecting Hailey’s pretty face to be the first thing I saw when I woke up. You can imagine the scare I had when I saw Ruzek’s ugly mug instead.”</p><p>Hailey’s pretty face. Platt’s lips curled up into a smile, Kim’s heart flip flopped. They glanced at one another. Everyone heard it but no one acknowledged it, as Hailey felt a slight blush in her cheeks. He was on painkillers still, he’s groggy and out of it, she told herself.</p><p>Everyone went about their business, Hailey giving Jay some time to catch up with Kim and Trudy. She was sure he was going stir crazy at this point, so any sort of outside human contact was a plus. </p><p>A few minutes later Hailey finally found her phone in Jay’s room, she had been looking for it all morning. She had a few missed calls and texts, most of them from Will. Just as she was walking out to the living room to return his messages, Will called again. Jay seeing her screen light up with his brother’s name.</p><p>“I better answer this, we don’t want Will sending a search party”, Hailey chuckled.</p><p>“Hi Will, sorry my phone was in the bedroom”, Kim and Trudy glanced at each other and Jay flashed them a cheeky grin, daring them to ask.</p><p>“He’s okay, bit of a rough night”, Hailey sat on the armrest of the couch next to Jay.</p><p>“Mhmm. He’s been taking his meds, and had something to eat earlier. He’s feeling alright”, Hailey made eye contact with Jay, who gave her a thumbs up, confirming her statements.</p><p>“No, no fever” she replied as she reached up to touch Jay’s forehead. He flinched at her cold hands. She automatically put a hand on his back to apologize. All of these little behaviours were not going unnoticed by their company. Kim and Trudy were eating this up. They were expecting this sure, but not for Hailey to be so open about it in front of them. They went from private, stoic partners to full blown married couple within a few days. Kim couldn’t wait to tell Kevin and Adam about this.</p><p>“Okay sounds good Will, see you later”, Hailey hung up the phone.</p><p>“Your brother is dead tired after his night shift, and has to go back in later, but said he would come hang out with you tomorrow night after he sleeps. Relieve me of my duties”, Hailey chuckled.</p><p>Jay pretended to pout, but understood that she had to go home at some point. She had already done enough for him these last few days.</p><p>“Will is a terrible cook, even grilled cheese- messes it up. I might not survive if you leave me”, Jay laughed.</p><p>“I made minestrone last night, and I’ll make more food today so you have it here, okay?” Hailey told him. Kim was dying on this inside, this was too much. There were so many things she had to add to her Hailey and Jay list. Jay admitting that he might not survive without Hailey, be cool Kim, be cool, she thought.</p><p>“That sounds good. Thanks Hails”, Jay told her before turning his attention back to Kim and Platt. They were filling him in on all the district gossip when he just fell asleep mid-conversation. The three women had to stifle their laughter.</p><p>“Guess we were boring him”, Trudy whispered as Kim gently covered him with a blanket.</p><p>“Is he okay Hailey, really?” Kim asked nervously. Sure Hailey was obviously the closest to Hailey, but the rest of the team had been really worried about him these last few days.</p><p>Hailey smiled back, “Yeah, he’s okay. Still in a lot of pain, but Will said that’ll get better. He’s being Jay and pushing through. He’s exhausted though, he needs rest. We barely slept last night.”</p><p>“And you’re staying here?” Platt prodded, choosing not to ask about the sleeping arrangements.</p><p>“I am”, Hailey confirmed, her eyes daring the two women to ask more.</p><p>“Good. I’m glad to hear that”, Platt responded, knowing now was not the time to inquire about the status of their relationship. Kim too, who was she to judge.</p><p>“If you need help, let us know. I can make some meals for you guys”, Kim offered.</p><p>“Thanks Kim”, Hailey smiled. The two excusing themselves not long after.</p><p>Kim and Platt had barely made it out the door when they turned to each other and grinned.</p><p>“That was something”, Platt said, stating the obvious.</p><p>“I have so many questions”, Kim replied.</p><p>They hopped in Trudy’s vehicle, Kim felt her phone vibrate and saw that it was a phone call from Adam. </p><p>“Hey”, Kim answered and put him on speaker.</p><p>“Hi darlin, how’s Jay?” Adam knew she was planning on visiting him this morning.</p><p> “Trudy and I just left. Jay’s sore today, pretty tired too. But he’ll be okay. Hailey has it under control”, she replied.</p><p>“Hey Sarge”, Adam acknowledged Platt. “That’s good to hear he’s on the mend. How were him and Hailey?” Adam asked suspiciously.</p><p>“She was doing his laundry Adam, his LAUN-DRY”, Kim emphasized. She couldn’t help herself, and could not get over the two of them playing house with such ease. She loved them both separately, but loved them even more together. Platt chuckled in the background.</p><p>“Actually?! You never even did my laundry, and we were engaged. TO BE MARRIED!” Adam replied enthusiastically at this development in their relationship. </p><p>“I know. It was almost too much romantic tension for me to handle in there. You should have seen how she was taking care of him Adam, it was so sweet”, Kim added.</p><p>“Sarge what was your read on this situation?” Adam asked curiously, knowing that Platt doesn’t normally insert herself into these sorts of conversations about colleagues.</p><p>“I’m not saying a word. But if I did, I would say that if Randall ever looked at me the way those two look at each other…”, Platt raised her eyebrows and gave Kim a provocative stare.</p><p>That was all it took for Kim and Adam to lose their minds with excitement.</p><p>“You want in on our pool Sarge?” Kim asked, implying the inevitable of when Hailey and Jay would finally get together.</p><p>“Please. I’ve been in one with patrol for years. Not going to lose my seniority in that one now”, Platt scoffed.</p><p>“Okay Sarge I see you”, Adam laughed over the speaker, Kim and Platt joining in as well. </p><p>XX</p><p>Jay napped on the couch for a few hours surprisingly, finally caving and listening to his body that was screaming at him to sleep. He woke up groggy later that afternoon, feeling a pair of feet resting on his legs. He looked over to see Hailey fast asleep on the other end of the couch with him, her hair spilling out of her messy bun. </p><p>He left her be, he knew she was tired too. She had been up with him most of the night. He slowly reached for the TV remote and turned on some sports highlights.</p><p>Hailey woke up about an hour later, surprised to see Jay sitting there watching TV like normal.</p><p>“Hey you alright? You should have woke me up!” She said when she looked at the time. </p><p>“I’m fine Hailey, you need sleep too”, he told her.</p><p>She yawned and stretched out as she sat up from his couch.</p><p>“It was nice seeing Kim and Platt today I bet”, Hailey said.</p><p>“Ya it was, made me feel a bit more normal you know? Plus Kim is totally pregnant.”</p><p>“Wait what? How can you be so sure?” Hailey rubbed her eyes, and thought she heard him wrong in her half asleep brain.</p><p>“Hailey I’ve been riding with her for weeks now, trust me. Kim is pregnant. I think it might be Ruzek’s”, Jay stated so simply, causing her to laugh.</p><p>“If you say so. Might be those painkillers talking Jay.” The two laughed it off before Hailey got up to heat some soup for dinner. She never got around to grocery shopping today, that could be a tomorrow adventure. </p><p>As promised, she ended up spoon feeding Jay some soup, who was in much better spirits than this morning, but still tired and sore. It was just easier for her to do it. Once dinner was finished, Jay was begging her to let him walk around more, but Hailey felt uneasy.</p><p>“Will said I could move around more today”, Jay reminded her.</p><p>“Ya but you also didn’t sleep well last night, and are still getting your strength back”, Hailey replied.</p><p>“Okay well, can we do a few laps of the hallway outside? Please Hailey, I’m going stir crazy”, Jay begged.</p><p>She understood that for sure. Jay was not the sit around and do nothing type of guy, so he most definitely was going stir crazy. She decided for her own mental health that she would let him do it just so he would stop annoying her.</p><p>“Fine, but I’m walking with you”, she compromised.</p><p>Just then, Jay remembered something and it caused a little sparkle in his eyes. “I’ll even hold your hand if it makes you feel better”, he told her.</p><p>Hailey grinned and rolled her eyes, he must have been able to hear them after all when he was lying in his hospital bed. “Alright fine, let’s go then.” </p><p>She slid his running shoes on and gave him a hand off the couch. Jay could hardly get to the door fast enough. </p><p>“Whoa, easy there track star”, Hailey followed behind him, opening his front door and letting him walk through.</p><p>Jay inhaled deeply, pretending he was outdoors, which Hailey got a kick out of. She held her left arm out once they were in his hallway, gesturing him to take it. Jay let out his own smirk, not wasting any opportunity to hold her hand. They went at their own pace walking up and down his hallway, giving Jay time to stretch his legs. They had been at it about fifteen minutes when Hailey noticed him slow down, so she suggested they go back inside. He agreed right away, which is how she knew he was ready for a rest.</p><p>Not surprisingly, he went straight to his bedroom, Hailey following behind him with some ice and more pain medicine.</p><p>“Thanks”, he replied, and gestured for her to sit down with him.</p><p>“Movie?” He asked, an unspoken invitation to fall asleep in there together again was hidden in the question.</p><p>“Sure”, Hailey got under the covers with him and put something on the TV. They barely made it through the opening credits before both falling asleep.</p><p>XX</p><p>The second night was much better than the first. Jay had only been up once after accidentally rolling over on his shoulder. He yelped silently, checked for blood, which he thankfully didn’t see, and went back to bed. He was happy he didn’t wake Hailey up either. She looked as pretty sleeping as she did awake, Jay still couldn’t believe she was doing this for him.</p><p>The two of them spent the next morning in a now familiar routine. Waking up, coffee in bed, Hailey would help Jay get dressed and then they would make their way to the kitchen for breakfast. Hailey made them omelettes and plopped herself on the couch to watch sports highlights with Jay. </p><p>She left him for a bit around lunch to get some groceries and start on meals for him for the week. Stuff he could easily reheat and eat by himself, as she was going to have to go back to work at some point. They had a nice long weekend together, but duty called. </p><p>They were on the couch together in the middle of laughing about old patrol stories from early in their career when they heard Will come into the apartment. He looked a little rough himself.</p><p>“Hey Will”, Jay greeted his brother. </p><p>“Hey guys, how are you?” Will asked, both of them replying that they were good. Hailey got off the couch to give them some privacy and make Will something to eat.</p><p>“Will, you’re in luck, I have just about anything you could want for dinner. Take your pick- lasagne, chilli, minestrone, chicken casserole…”</p><p>“Oh, thanks Hailey. Um chilli sounds good”, Will said, not expecting her to feed him dinner.</p><p>“You got it”, Hailey said fixing him a bowl with some fresh bread on the side.</p><p>“Wow this is good Hailey”, Will inhaled it, not remembering the last time he actually had a full meal coming from somewhere other than hospital vending machines.</p><p>“Thanks. Nothing fancy. You’re okay Will? You look tired”, Hailey eyed him suspiciously.</p><p>“Rough week”, he told her honestly, Jay was watching him carefully from the corner of his eye too.</p><p>“Well, I’m glad you’re off for a few days now. It will give you some time to recharge too.”</p><p>“For sure, I hope Jay hasn’t been too difficult for you”, Will replied.</p><p>“Hey, I’m right here guys”, Jay said sarcastically.</p><p>“Not at all, he’s been the perfect patient”, Hailey laughed. </p><p>Will caught the two of them staring at each other, burning holes into each other’s souls. </p><p>“I’m going to head out. Call me if you need anything okay Jay?” Hailey offered before saying goodbye to the Halstead brothers.</p><p>XX</p><p>“So, I know I’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight, but I have a feeling Hailey didn’t have to”, Will suggested after his brother’s partner had left for the night.</p><p>Jay shook his head, rolling his eyes but laughing at his brother’s attempt at being smooth.</p><p>“Is this something that’s happened before?” Will asked cheekily. Jay smirked.</p><p>“Have we slept in the same bed before, yes. But no. It hasn’t happened, if that’s what you’re implying.” Jay said equally as cheeky.</p><p>“Do you want it to happen?” Will poked further. Jay blushed, something so rare it caught Will off guard even. Will had him right where he wanted him.</p><p>Jay smiled. “Ya I do want this actually.”</p><p>His answer surprised Will, who shook his head and laughed.</p><p>“The two of you love each other. That much is very clear.”</p><p>“I don’t know how to tell her, I’m not sure it’s the right time”, Jay admitted quietly.</p><p>“It’s never going to be the right time. But Hailey loves you so much. She didn’t leave your side for more than a few hours this whole week. She took care of you in every way.”</p><p>“I know she did. She always does. I feel so guilty Will, I let her down. This must have been so hard on her.”</p><p>Will chuckled. Leave it to Jay to be thinking of Hailey’s well-being after he just had a near death experience.</p><p>“She was a wreck that night. Completely unhinged. I’ve never seen her like that before. I think if people didn’t suspect you two before, they absolutely do now.”</p><p>“The thought of that used to make me nervous. But now, after everything that’s happened. It doesn’t at all”, Jay finally voiced out loud what he was actually feeling.</p><p>Will couldn’t believe what he was hearing out of his private, close to the vest, brother’s mouth.</p><p>“You guys are going to have plenty of time to figure it out”, Will replied.</p><p>Jay just smiled, having already revealed too much to his older brother. </p><p>XX</p><p>Later that night, Hailey was getting ready for bed herself after fielding a million questions from Vanessa who was completely floored that Hailey slept in bed with a shirtless Jay for two nights in a row. And was even more surprised to learn that this was not the first time they’ve done that. She sent Jay a text before crawling into bed. Trying to think of a way to tell him she missed him, without saying it. </p><p>Hope you’re feeling better, I’ll come by tomorrow. Get a good sleep!</p><p>He replied almost instantly, having his partner on his mind before bed too. He wanted to tell her that he missed her and that he wanted her in bed beside him but instead it came out as…</p><p>Thanks Hailey, I’ll call you tomorrow. </p><p>He paused before hitting send on another message, but decided to be bold and go through with it.</p><p>P.S. It’s kind of lonely in my bed without you.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Everything I need is right here</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 13</p><p>Jay’s bed wasn’t without Hailey in it for too long. She came back to his place two days later after Will got called into the hospital unexpectedly. </p><p>“On one of my only days off this week, figures”, Will said frustrated at the door. Hailey walked in as he was putting his coat on, looking like he hadn’t slept very well himself.</p><p>“Sorry Will, I get it. Sometimes duty calls”, Hailey replied.</p><p>“For sure. We’re short right now in the ED, flu bug going around the staff”, Will explained.</p><p>“That sucks. Take care of yourself too okay?” Hailey said.</p><p>“I will. Jay’s feeling a bit better today. He still didn’t sleep very well though. I’m pretty sure he’s still out if you want to go crawl in there with him”, Will boldly stated.</p><p>Hailey smirked, raising an eyebrow at Will. </p><p>“You want to take something for your lunch?” She changed the subject and opened Jay’s fridge.</p><p>“That’s alright, you made that for Jay”, Will reasoned.</p><p>“It’s fine Will, really. There’s tons of food here. You need to eat too”, Hailey insisted as she started pulling out some tupperware.</p><p>“Okay if you insist, I would not object to some more of that chilli. And maybe some lasagne”, Will chuckled.</p><p>“You got it”, Hailey smiled and packed him something to eat. She had a feeling if she didn’t do this he wouldn’t eat anything at all today. She knew Will well enough at this point to know that he thinks coffee is a sufficient meal. </p><p>Will packed up and left shortly after, leaving Hailey alone in the apartment again. She slowly cracked Jay’s door and saw him sleeping soundly. She tip toed to his bed and pulled the blankets back to crawl in next to him. She briefly hesitated, because she didn’t want to startle him. He wasn’t expecting her as far as she knew.</p><p>The mattress moved a bit as she laid back down and Jay’s eyes fluttered a few times. He opened them slowly, surprisingly not freaked out seeing someone next to him.</p><p>“Hailey?” He questioned, although he knew the answer, even in the darkness, he felt her familiar presence. </p><p>“Hey. Will got called into work this morning so I’m back”, she whispered.</p><p>“Good”, Jay mumbled, unable to keep his eyes open.</p><p>She saw him struggling to stay awake, so she moved a little closer and put her hand over his. </p><p>“Go back to sleep okay. I’ll be here when you wake up”, she said softly as he nodded and closed his eyes for good again.</p><p>XX</p><p>They slept like that for a few extra hours, Hailey wasn’t usually one for naps, especially mid-morning ones, but her body was still tired from the last week as well. They got up around lunch, moving into the kitchen and living room and having a bite to eat.</p><p>Jay seemed to be looking and feeling more like himself. The extra sleep was helping a lot. They passed the time by watching movies and playing Scrabble, and before they knew it, it was dark again. Hailey didn’t mind staying at Jay’s, she actually preferred it. She stayed up half the night last night thinking about his text to her about his bed being lonely without her. He was under the influence of painkillers, sure. But she had a feeling there was more truth to that statement than he would normally admit. </p><p>As they were getting ready for bed, Jay opened the door to his bathroom as Hailey was washing her face. She saw his reflection in the mirror as she stood over the sink, throwing her hair up in a bun. He smirked at her as he was leaning on the doorframe, his eyes looking her up and down.</p><p>“I think you’re getting too comfortable here Hails”, Jay laughed at the domestic nature of their past few days. She rolled her eyes and grinned. He stood next to her and reached for his toothbrush. </p><p>Hailey did the same, first putting toothpaste on hers then looking up at him with a cheeky grin. </p><p>“Thanks”, Jay chuckled as she put toothpaste on his too. </p><p>They stood in silence for a few minutes brushing their teeth together, the whole thing feeling very normal to both of them. Hailey couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else in the unit. She doesn’t even do this with Rojas, who she actually lives with. </p><p>Hailey left him alone to give him time to change and get ready for bed on his own. He still needed help with his shirt, but everything else he was fine with, thankfully. Jay came out of the bathroom to find Hailey sitting up under the covers, on her side of the bed. He had a brief memory lapse and couldn’t help but think what this would be like with her one day, for real. She looked so normal just sitting there tucked in, like they were already an old married couple. Maybe Kevin was right after all, this did feel natural. </p><p>Jay must have zoned out for a minute because Hailey called his name a few times before he shook himself out of it.</p><p>“You alright?” She laughed. </p><p>“Ya, ya I’m good”, Jay covered and got in on the other side of the bed, his side. </p><p>“Oh right , your shirt”, Hailey blurted out as she reached over to him.</p><p>Jay smiled as she took his sling off and helped pull his shirt over his head. She made sure his pillows were propped and he was comfortable.</p><p>“Thanks Hails. Good night”, he said as he yawned and leaned back into his bed.</p><p>“Good night Jay”, she said as she turned off the lamp and shut her eyes.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey jolted awake to the sound of her alarm. She heard a laugh from next to her as she groaned.</p><p>“Back to reality”, Jay laughed, unsurprising to her that he was awake before her.</p><p>“Don’t make me go back to work”, she pulled the covers over her head, dreading the fact that it was Monday already. As promised, Voight let her have a few days off to look after Jay. She called him yesterday and told him that she would be in for Monday. He briefly objected, saying she could take more time. But for now, she wanted to get back to work and back to her normal routine. </p><p>“As much as I would love for you to stay and sleep a little longer, you need to get up”, Jay told her, pulling the blankets away from her body.</p><p>“Ugh fine, fine”, Hailey reluctantly sat up, Jay’s statement about wanting her to stay in bed with him did not go unnoticed. </p><p>As she got out of bed and looked out the window, she was surprised to see how much it had snowed overnight. </p><p>“Wow, a storm must have came through last night”, Hailey said looking around at all the cars covered on the street.</p><p>“Really? I didn’t think we were getting one”, Jay said as he got out of bed to look.</p><p>Hailey quickly got herself dressed and ready for work as Jay went out to the kitchen to make her a coffee and some toast before she had to leave.</p><p>“You didn’t have to do that Jay”, Hailey smiled at his thoughtfulness.</p><p>“Least I can do”, he smiled back. </p><p>“Oh also, you can take my truck today”, Jay added.</p><p>Hailey raised her eyebrows at that, he never lets her drive that.</p><p>“Wow, Jay Halstead. What did I do to deserve this honour?” She said sarcastically through a laugh.</p><p>“The roads are bad, I started it already so you won’t have to scrape as much. Don’t get too used to it though”, Jay told her, amused at the surprised look on her face.</p><p>“Ya, ya. Thanks Jay”, Hailey said genuinely as he handed her the keys. He was always looking out for her.</p><p>She left for work after making sure he was okay here on his own, which he repeatedly assured her he was. He promised to call her if he needed anything. Hailey sprinted down the stairs, already running a bit behind and hopped into Jay’s truck. She was silently thanking him for starting it early, and his heated seats. It was frigid out there.</p><p>She pulled into work just as Adam and Kevin were getting out of their vehicles. They both did a double take at Hailey climbing out of Jay’s truck. </p><p>“Go ahead, get it all out now”, Hailey smirked, challenging them to ask her why she had his truck today and not her own Jeep.</p><p>“Does Jay realize you stole his truck?” Adam laughed.</p><p>“Very funny. His idea actually, safer in the snow. We were surprised to see all of this when we woke up this morning”, Hailey let that last part slip. It was too late by the time the words were out of her mouth. Kevin and Adam’s mouths were practically hanging open at her admitting their sleeping arrangements. When we woke up, Adam grinned. All that was missing from that statement was together at the end of it.</p><p>“Makes total sense”, Kevin replied after a long pause, but not without teasing her a little bit. </p><p>“Not another word”, Hailey laughed and rolled her eyes when they made it inside. </p><p>“New ride today I see Upton”, Platt greeted her at the doorway. Caught red-handed.</p><p>“Ya Sarge, you like it? Just got it over the weekend”, Hailey jokingly replied, much to the delight of Adam and Kevin who could not keep it together about this whole situation.</p><p>That even caused Trudy to crack a rare smile. It was good to see Hailey back to her old self and in a much better mood than last week.</p><p>XX</p><p>The day passed by quickly, Hailey had a lot of work to catch up on. Thankfully, someone had taken care of the incident report from when Jay got shot for her. That was something she was not ready to re-live. She suspected Adam, as she found it typed up and left on her desk with a sticky note attached saying all she needed to do was sign it. Adam and Voight were right there after all. She walked into Voight’s office at the end of the day and handed it in to him.</p><p>“Thanks, I’ll file this away for you. How’s Halstead doing?” He inquired.</p><p>“He’s feeling a lot better. First few days were a bit rough, but he’s coming around”, Hailey replied.</p><p>“That’s good to hear. Tell him we’re all asking for him. I know he’s off the rest of this week, but I just got word that next week he’ll be able to come back to desk duty. If he’s up to it of course.”</p><p>Hailey perked up at that, that was great news. She missed her partner. It felt silly since she had literally been sleeping next to him all week. But it felt weird at work without him. </p><p>She left for the night, heading straight to Jay’s. She walked in to find him setting the table for the two of them for dinner. She shook her head at him reaching into the cupboards.</p><p>“Jay, I can do that. You shouldn’t be reaching around or lifting, you might pop a stitch”, she scolded him. </p><p>He sighed loudly. “I know, I just want to feel like I’m being productive”, he told her. She understood his frustration, he wasn’t someone who liked accepting help. </p><p>“I got it Jay. Go sit down”, she said softly, taking the plates from his hand. </p><p>They enjoyed dinner together, Hailey telling him all about things that were going on at work. She could tell that he was bored at home, and itching to get back. </p><p>“Voight said you were coming back next week on modified duties?” She asked. </p><p>Jay smiled, “Ya I heard from HR today. It’ll be nice to get back. I’m going stir crazy Hails.”</p><p>“I know I can imagine. The week will fly by, take advantage of your time off to rest.”</p><p>“Yes dear”, Jay grinned at her from across the table. </p><p>“Work is lonely without you”, she admitted out loud, copying his lonely text from the other night.</p><p>“I was lonely without you here today too”, Jay replied, a comfortable silence washing over them for the rest of their meal.</p><p>XX</p><p>The next week flew by as Hailey told him it would. He was feeling much better, especially after the stitches were out and he had a bit more freedom to move around. He was also off the painkillers which was a blessing and a curse. He wasn’t exactly pain free yet, but didn’t want to be taking those any longer than he had to be. </p><p>On the morning of his first day back, Jay felt like it was Christmas. He was up at the crack of dawn, and managed to get himself dressed while Hailey was still fast asleep in his bed. She hadn’t slept over every night since he was discharged from the hospital, but enough of the nights. He would be lying if he said he would be looking forward to her going back to her place full time. There wasn’t enough ways or words to thank her for all that she’d done for him this week. She was there every step of the way, and went way beyond her partner responsibilities. He paused and watched her sleep for a minute, her breath was slow and steady, her tousled blonde hair poking out from under the covers, shining in the morning sun peaking through his window. He loved how Hailey puts on this front that she isn’t the touchy feely snuggling type, yet her feet somehow always end up tangled with his during the night. Or how she slowly but surely makes her way over to his side of the bed, never full on cuddling with him, but close enough. As much as he was ecstatic to go back to work and get back to his normal life, he couldn’t help but wish this, playing house with Hailey, would last a little longer.</p><p>He was out having breakfast when he heard his bedroom door open abruptly. He looked down at his watch, there was no way she would be up this early voluntarily. She stumbled out of his room, halfway between doing her sweater up and mumbling something about being called to a crime scene.</p><p>He chuckled to himself as she was looking around for her stuff before rushing to work. </p><p>“Here”, he met her at the door and handed her a travel mug of coffee. </p><p>“I could kiss you right now”, she blurted out by accident, blushing instantly and stumbling over her other words. </p><p>Jay just grinned from ear to ear at her, nodding and calling her bluff. <br/>“I’ll come back for you after I go see what’s happening”, she deflected quickly, thankful that she didn’t have time to stick around and address what just happened.</p><p>“Sounds good”, Jay replied. He was feeling a lot better, but still had the sling and was unable to drive himself.</p><p>Hailey, what am I going to do with you, he thought as she hurried out the door and into the unknown of the day.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey came back for him as promised about an hour later, explaining the situation on the way. </p><p>“I think you’re right about Adam and Kim”, she said cheekily.</p><p>“Oh?” Jay inquired.</p><p>“They were the first on scene this morning. You know how early it was”, she eyed him up in the passenger seat.</p><p>“Kim loves this breakfast joint right around the corner from where it took place too”, Jay added with a grin.</p><p>“Maybe we’ll find out sooner rather than later if your theory is right”, Hailey said as they pulled into work. </p><p>The rest of the team wasn’t back quite yet, so Hailey and Jay took their time getting settled in. Hailey started on the suspect board while Jay looked through his desk, getting everything in order. The doctor cleared him for light duties, desk duties, but nonetheless, something better than sitting on his couch all day.</p><p>Jay was standing over the photocopier when he heard the team climbing up the stairs.</p><p>“Well, well, well look who it is”, Adam smiled as he gently patted Jay on the shoulder.</p><p>“Hey guys”, Jay smiled at Kim, Kevin and Adam.</p><p>“Glad to have you back Jay”, Kim added as the others copied her sentiments, Rojas winking at him from afar. Only she had really known the extent of his week with Hailey.</p><p>Voight allowed them a few minutes to catch up with Jay before diving straight into the case. He was silently enjoying their banter, his bullpen felt complete again.</p><p>XX<br/>The case took a few days, but they managed to wrap things up, with Hailey actually making a pretty critical intervention with their suspect.</p><p>Jay was talking to Platt, waiting for her to come down to go home together.</p><p>“When does that thing come off”, Platt nodded towards his sling.</p><p>“Hopefully in the next few days, it’s driving me nuts”, Jay replied.</p><p>“Good”, Trudy said before coming out from behind her desk, walking towards him silently. </p><p>She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a gentle hug. He was caught off guard at first, but then let out a low laugh, hugging her back. “Aww Sarge, you really missed me.”</p><p>“Don’t do that again Halstead”, Platt threatened, but behind it was a soft expression on her face. Jay gave her a half smile back.</p><p>“I won’t, I promise”, he said as he heard the familiar click of the gate to the stairs of Intelligence. Hailey and Kim came downstairs together, heading home after a long few days. Hailey looked wiped.</p><p>“Heard about your badass save”, Jay told his partner.</p><p>“Ya, you want all the details?” Hailey replied with a grin on her face.</p><p>“Please. I’m going insane with boredom here”, Jay begged her.</p><p>“I’ll tell you all about it on the way home”, Hailey smiled as they said good night to Platt and Kim.</p><p>Jay followed her out of the building out to her car, placing his good hand on her lower back as they headed down the stairs, not really caring if anyone saw them.</p><p>XX</p><p>Jay had been stuck at his desk all week and practically jumped for joy when he heard he had his medical clearance appointment scheduled for the next morning. His sling had been off for a few days and his shoulder was feeling much stronger. Voight called and gave him the heads up, that he would have the next day off to get through all of his appointments and tests. Being that Intelligence is a very physically demanding job, Jay was going to be put through the ringer and he was ready for the challenge. He tried calling Hailey after getting off the phone with Voight but it went straight to voicemail. He checked the time, realizing it was sort of late. She might be in bed already, she’s been exhausted this week, he thought. He would try her again in the morning, turning in for the night himself shortly after.<br/>Jay exhaled and smiled as he walked out of the testing facility, with clearance papers in hand. He had a full day of physical and cognitive testing done at headquarters, to make sure he was fully recovered and ready to go back to work. His shoulder held up, it was a little sore after all the shooting drills. But a good sore. He took his phone out of his pocket for the first time all day just as his stomach growled. He didn’t realize how late it was, and he was dying for some dinner. Still no texts or calls from Hailey, which was a little strange. He wasn’t sure if she knew he was re-qualifying today, he assumed someone on the team would have told her.</p><p>He tried her cell again, no answer. He felt like celebrating and the only person he wanted to celebrate with was her. In a last ditch effort to track her down before going to his own place, he called Rojas. </p><p>She picked up after a few rings, sounding surprised to hear from him.</p><p>“Hey Halstead, what’s up?”</p><p>“Hey Vanessa. I’m trying to get a hold of Hailey, she at home?”</p><p>“Ahh, yes she is. She called in sick to work today, been in bed all day with a migraine”, Rojas said sounding sympathetic on the other end.</p><p>Jay instantly felt a little panic, knowing how sick Will got sometimes.</p><p>“Is she okay?” Jay asked, Rojas catching the nervousness in his voice.</p><p>“I’ve tried going in there a few times to give her some water, she’s trying to sleep it off. Not feeling so hot”, she replied, curious as to what Jay’s response would be.</p><p>“Okay, I’m on my way. Want anything for dinner?” He asked Vanessa.</p><p>“I wouldn’t be mad if you ordered us a pizza”, she laughed on the other end of the phone.</p><p>“You read my mind. Alright, I’ll be there soon”, Jay hung up on the phone and hopped in his truck to head to Hailey’s place.</p><p>He arrived within the hour, with pizza for him and Rojas, and supplies from the drugstore for Hailey.</p><p>“Sling is gone for good?” Vanessa had a smile on her face as she opened the door.</p><p>“Just got cleared this afternoon”, Jay replied with an equally large grin.</p><p>“Jay that’s amazing! Happy for you. Welcome back officially”, she said as she closed the front door behind him, taking a few things from his hands. </p><p>They made their way to the kitchen to eat dinner. At first, it felt a bit strange doing this just him and Rojas. But even in the short time knowing her, he was comfortable around her. There was just something about her that made her easy to get along with, she was like a chameleon. It made sense why she did so well undercover for so long.</p><p>They scarfed down a few slices, Rojas filling Jay in on what happened at the station today. Turns out he didn’t miss much after all. With Hailey out, they didn’t get a whole lot of work done but that was fine, it was a slow week after the Canaryville case they closed the other day.</p><p>“I was hoping the smell of Lou’s would lure her down here”, Jay said. </p><p>Just as Vanessa was about to respond, they heard Hailey retching violently in the bathroom. Rojas got up instantly to check on her, but Jay tapped her shoulder instead.</p><p>“I’ll go”, he smiled and Vanessa broke out into a grin once he was on his way upstairs. Looks like she might be having a similar conversation with Jay to the one she had in the hospital with Hailey while he was in surgery.</p><p>Jay tip toed upstairs to Hailey’s bedroom, fumbling around in total darkness. He knew the layout well, thankfully. Once he made it to the door of her ensuite, he knocked silently. </p><p>“I’m fine Vanessa”, Hailey mumbled somewhat incoherently from the other side.</p><p>“Hailey it’s me”, Jay softly called back.</p><p>“Mmmmm”, Hailey groaned as she started throwing up again.</p><p>Jay decided to open the door this time, at first wanting to respect her privacy. He wasn’t sure what sort of clothes she had on, if any. But at this point, that didn’t really matter, she sounded very ill. </p><p>He knelt down in the darkness next to her, finding her small figure slumped over the toilet. He rested a hand on her back, relieved to find that she was at least wearing a shirt.</p><p>“Hey, shhh”, he whispered to her as she moaned in pain again.</p><p>“I’m going to turn my flashlight on okay Hails? Close your eyes” He needed to see what he was dealing with here. </p><p>She mouthed a small okay. Jay pulled out his phone, adjusting his own eyes to the bright light. Hailey looked like she was on deaths door. Pale as a ghost, hair all over the place, like she hadn’t slept in days.</p><p>“Oh, Hails”, Jay murmured as he gently held her hair away from her face and rubbed her back for her as she continued to throw up. Jay was grateful for two hands again, even though he wasn’t exactly imagining having to do this fresh after recovery.</p><p>They stayed there for what felt like forever, when in reality it was about ten minutes. </p><p>“You done?” He asked her.</p><p>“For now”, she said with a raspy voice. Jay tried to hand her some water but she shook her head.</p><p>“It’s just going to come up again”, she leaned back against the sink, resting her head on her knees that were pulled into her chest. Jay almost laughed, she was a spitting image of Will when he had migraines. </p><p>“You’re probably dehydrated”, Jay tried to reason with her but she wasn’t having any of it. </p><p>“I’ll be fine here”, she mumbled. </p><p>“No come on,  I’ll help you back to bed”, Jay crouched next to her, extending a hand her way. She eventually took it, but as she stood up her legs startled to buckle.</p><p>“Whoa, whoa Hails”, Jay steadied her, letting her lean against him. </p><p>Thankfully Rojas came in at that point, Jay directing her what to do.</p><p>“I’m going to get her into bed, can you go pull the blankets back?” He asked.</p><p>Rojas nodded, leading the way from the bathroom, trying to avoid turning any lights on. Although it was bright enough to see Jay’s silhouette scooping Hailey into his arms and carrying her the rest of the way. These two, she thought, having the freedom to smirk in the safety of darkness in Hailey’s bedroom.</p><p>Jay felt the tension in Hailey’s body against his own, her warm skin brushing against his.</p><p>“I don’t want you to hurt your shoulder”, Hailey said quietly.</p><p>Jay chuckled, Hailey was as light as a feather “My shoulder is fine, officially cleared to come back as of today. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you to tell you the good news partner.”</p><p>“Sorry, I’ve been down for the count”, she replied.</p><p>“I know, it’s okay”, he said as he gently set her down in her bed and pulled the covers back over her. </p><p>“Are you staying?” She asked him innocently.</p><p>“Of course. I’ll be right back” She nodded as he left the room, following Rojas out.</p><p>He met her in the hallway, with a big smirk on her face.</p><p>“Go ahead, say what you need to say”, he faked an eye roll and shot her his infamous half smile.</p><p>“I plead the fifth”, she said as he followed her downstairs.</p><p>“That would be wise”, he sassed back, causing both of them to giggle.</p><p>Jay collected a couple of ice packs, a bottle of water and some ginger ale from the kitchen. He poured the ginger ale into a glass and started stirring out the bubbles out of old habit with Will.</p><p>“Um, what are you doing?” Vanessa laughed.</p><p>Jay looked up to find her staring at him like he had two heads. “Stirring out the bubbles?” He replied as if everyone knew what that was for.</p><p>“To make it go flat, the carbonation is only going to upset her stomach more. This will help with the nausea hopefully”, he explained.</p><p>“Whatever you say, Dr. Halstead”, she teased as she shook her head and helped him carry a few things to Hailey’s room.</p><p>Jay thanked Vanessa and got settled next to Hailey in her bed for a change.</p><p>“Hailey you have to try something”, he said as she refused the water and the ginger ale.</p><p>“No, I don’t know if I have energy for another vomit session”, she attempted a laugh, but then pressed her hand over her face to try and stop the throbbing.</p><p>“How long has this been going on?”</p><p>“The migraine or the vomiting?” She replied.</p><p>“Both”, Jay said.</p><p>“Last night…for both”, she said slowly, knowing he was going to scold her.</p><p>“Hailey, you should have called me”, he said softly.</p><p>“I’m a big girl Jay”, she replied.</p><p>“I know…”, he hesitated. “But you’re sick. You’ve taken care of me for weeks now, let me do the same for you”, he coaxed.</p><p>He heard her sigh and roll over to face him, sliding a bit closer to him in bed.</p><p>Instinctively he reached for a pillow and set it across his thighs, encouraging her to rest her head. She curled up on her side next to him, trying to breathe through the pain.</p><p>“Lucky for you I am a migraine veteran”, he joked. It was small but he got a laugh out of her for that one. </p><p>“Will and I are members of an unfortunate club”, she replied back. </p><p>He set the ice pack at the base of her neck, feeling her shiver from the cold.</p><p>“I know”, he whispered as he rubbed small circles in her back. She eventually fell asleep, or so he thought anyways. He was starting to doze off himself when he felt her jolt back up and run to the bathroom again.</p><p>He winced hearing her gagging, knowing there was nothing in her stomach to even come up. He waited a minute, contemplating, before ultimately deciding on his next move.</p><p>He stepped out into the hallway and told Vanessa what he was thinking, then made a phone call.</p><p>“Hey Will, I need your help.”</p><p>XX</p><p>Will rushed over to Hailey’s house as fast as he could, knowing the pain she was feeling all too well. He knocked on the door and was greeted by Hailey’s roommate. He had heard of Vanessa Rojas, but never formally met her.</p><p>“Hey, you must be Will”, she smiled and opened the door, inviting him in.</p><p>“Nice to meet you Vanessa”, he replied back.</p><p>“They’re upstairs in Hailey’s room”, she nodded and Will excused himself.</p><p>“Jay? Hailey?” Will softly knocked and pushed open her door. He cringed at what he saw initially, Hailey crumpled up in a ball lying on top of Jay’s lap, her brow furrowed in pain.<br/>His expression softened when he saw Jay’s hand tracing small circles in her back, and his fingers running through her hair. He was whispering something to her that Will couldn’t make out.</p><p>“Hey”, Will said, the new voice in the room causing Hailey to open her eyes, then immediately regretting it. Jay had turned the bedside lamp on so Will could see what he was doing when he got here.</p><p>“Will?” Hailey half asked, half greeted.</p><p>“Hi Hailey”, Will crouched down next to her. “Migraine? You don’t look very well”, he had a hand on her back, and watched her struggle to answer him, seeing a few tears rolls down her cheeks. Jay looked at him helplessly.</p><p>Will started pulling things out of his medical bag to check her vitals before starting an IV, hoping that would make her feel better. He was going to show Hailey the same kindness she has always shown him, and countless times for his brother.</p><p>It took all of her strength to nod at him and go through the motions. She was wiling to take anything at this point to make the pain go away. He asked her a few questions about when it started, how long she had been throwing up for, same things Jay asked her really. She half answered, letting Jay talk for her on the rest.</p><p>“I’m going to get an IV going okay Hailey? You’re really dehydrated you need fluids”, Will looked at Jay cautiously, knowing his brother was not the best with needles.</p><p>Hailey nodded giving him the go ahead, Jay nodded too, still holding onto her, trying to comfort her in anyway he could. </p><p>To Jay’s credit, he barely flinched at the sight of the IV needle. It was especially difficult to find a vein on Hailey too, so unfortunately Will had to do some poking and prodding.</p><p>“You’re doing great Hailey, almost done”, Will kept reassuring her. He finally found a vein and inserted the IV. She reacted slightly when she felt the pinch of it going in.</p><p>“Shhh, you’re okay. I got you”, Jay whispered to her, stroking her forehead with his thumb, the rest of his fingers tangled up in her hair. Even Will felt his heart flip flop a little at that.</p><p>“Here Jay, I need you to hold this bag for a second”, Will handed him the IV bag as he was setting up a makeshift pole in Hailey’s room. Jay held the bag against his shoulder as he watched the fluids slowly drip down the tube into Hailey’s veins.</p><p>“There, this should help with the nausea and the pain”, Will said as he took the bag from Jay and hung it on Hailey’s lamp pole.</p><p>“Thanks Will”, Hailey said weakly.</p><p>“Any time, I know the feeling. This should work soon I promise, give it about 15-20 minutes and you’ll start turning the corner okay”, Will told her as he placed a pillow under her arm with the IV in it.</p><p>She nodded, Jay glancing at the IV bag and then down at Hailey, making sure she was comfortable, sacrificing his own comfort in the process. He could feel his legs falling asleep underneath her.</p><p>“I’ll go wait in the living room, that will be done in about an hour”, he whispered to Jay, who gave Will a thumbs up before he left the room, turning the lights off and shutting the door on his way out.</p><p>XX</p><p>Jay kept his eyes open long enough for Hailey to confirm that she was starting to feel a little better, and the pain had subsided enough that she was going to try to sleep.</p><p>Being a light sleeper meant that Jay heard everything. His eyes popped open the second that Will poked his head back in check on Hailey.</p><p>The IV was finished and that seemed to really help her. Will gently took the needle out of her arm and covered it with a band aid, some blood came out at the same time. Only then did he see Jay’s face go a little pale. Will laughed even harder when he saw Hailey grin. Her eyes were closed but she knew what had just happened. If Will had to guess, he would say she probably felt him tense up underneath her.</p><p>“You did good Jay”, Hailey complimented him overcoming his fear of needles. Jay responded with a smile and an eye roll she couldn’t see, and a pat on the back too.</p><p>“You did good Hails”, he replied.</p><p>“Okay, I’m going to get out of here. You kids alright?” Will said.</p><p>Hailey and Jay both smiled. “We’re good”, Jay replied. “Much better, thanks so much Will”, Hailey echoed.</p><p>“Glad to hear that. You’ll be able to sleep it off now”, Will explained, watching Hailey’s eyelids start to flutter shut, a bit drowsy from the anti-nausea medication. “Call me if anything changes”, he directed that at Jay, before sneaking out for good.</p><p>Jay could finally sleep on his side again without pain, but instead he chose to stay on his back, not wanting to disturb Hailey. He slid down slowly, gently lifting her off of his legs and moving the pillow so that it was more on his chest. They really had to stop making it a habit of sleeping in each other’s beds…Jay shook his head, knowing that wasn’t really a habit that he wanted to break.</p><p>“Sorry Jay”, Hailey mumbled before she passed out.</p><p>“For what?” Jay asked perplexed.</p><p>“You got cleared today and wanted to celebrate. You need a night out”, she yawned.</p><p>Jay paused before responding, pulling her in a little closer to his chest, his arms enveloping her, his fingers reaching out to find hers.</p><p>“Everything I need is right here”, he said softly, rubbing her back until they both fell asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. A concussion & a Valentine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 14</p><p>In the coming weeks, Jay and Hailey had yet to address their feelings for one another. There was far too much going on with their team. The closest they came was when Jay followed Hailey to the South Side one night, just before Darius Walker showed up dead.</p><p>“You following me?” Hailey sassed him.</p><p>Jay was not impressed, giving her a look after she repeated his own words from the Marcus West case.</p><p>“What are you doing Hailey?” He asked concerned.</p><p>“It doesn’t concern you”, she replied coldly.</p><p>“Yes it does. Good or bad, right or wrong. You know it does.” </p><p>She kept replaying that conversation in her brain, of course it concerned him. She knew that, but she wanted to keep him far away from this one. Letting him in was only going to cause her pain, and maybe even him too.</p><p>Jay had been right about his hunch on Burgess being pregnant after all. Unfortunately, as elated as they all were to hear the news, it was quickly replaced with sadness. A case gone wrong found Burgess on the receiving end of a brutal beating, resulting in her losing the baby. Kim was devastated, Adam was trying to hold it together for the two of them, and the rest of the team were trying to support them in any way that they could.</p><p>“Hey, how’s she doing?” Rojas asked Adam as he followed her into the district the morning after Kim was released from the hospital.</p><p>“She’s doing alright, she’ll be on light duties for a while. Thanks for asking”, he put on a brave smile as he walked past Platt’s desk.</p><p>“Hey, Adam. I’m so sorry to hear. How are you doing with all of this?” Trudy asked cautiously.</p><p>“I’m okay. Just trying to process it”, he allowed the sadness to creep into his voice just long enough for Platt to pick up on it.</p><p>“We’re all here for you, let us know what you and Kim need alright?”</p><p>“Thanks Sarge”, Adam smiled as he walked upstairs.</p><p>Jay and Hailey were already sitting at their desks. Rojas, Kevin and Adam strolled in just after. Hailey was staring at Jay as he saw Adam walk in, his face tensing. She had noticed how distant he was at the hospital, how he barely made it through the doors, always hovering towards the exit. She sensed that he was struggling with something but she wasn’t sure what. Ever since the night he came over to take care of her while she had a migraine, he had been quieter than usual. Stress of coming back to work, being worried and sad for Kim, his own demons- she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. But she knew Jay, and pushing wasn’t a good idea so she was going to let him come to her when he was ready.</p><p>Thankfully, they didn’t have time to dwell on their feelings for too long as they caught a case that was deeply personal to Rojas.</p><p>Voight had nonchalantly paired Hailey and Jay together again, everyone, including himself, knew that this was best for all of them.</p><p>Jay and Hailey sat quietly in his truck, watching their suspect get out of his vehicle.</p><p>“You ready?” He asked without looking at her, he knew she was.</p><p>“Ya, let’s go”, Hailey murmured. </p><p>To no surprise, their suspect did not surrender quietly. He led Hailey and Jay on a chase through some back alley’s, Hailey running ahead to cover her partner. Jay didn’t even have time to think before his body was flinging itself over a fence in order to take him down.</p><p>Hailey rushed over to him, immediate concern for his shoulder, but let out a breath when she saw that he was fine. He was on the ground because it was Jay that had done the tackling, not the other way around. </p><p>They went on the rest of the day trying to help Rojas figure this case out. Hailey had stepped up and taken the lead on partnering with her roommate most of the day. Well, her and Kevin. She could tell this case was personal to Vanessa, and she knew what it felt like to carry a heavy burden. </p><p>Another thing her and Jay had not spoken about was the whole Darius Walker situation. Maybe that’s why he’s being weird around me, she thought as a light bulb went off in her head. She quickly back tracked, Jay was not one to hold grudges with her. Even if he knew she was in the wrong, he always had her back. She decided not to push the matter for today, there would be time for that eventually. </p><p>“You don’t have to do this with me, I know you’ve had a long day”, Rojas told Hailey.</p><p>“It’s not like I have a hot date waiting for me. Grub hub can wait”, Hailey replied.</p><p>Right now, she was with Rojas trying to find Sammy. They got word from patrol that he was at a drop-in center. They approached him cautiously, and Hailey thought that Rojas might actually be getting through to him until he got spooked by a radio call.<br/>“Sammy, no wait!” Rojas yelled as Sammy let off a few shots into the air and fled out the back exit of the building.</p><p>Hailey yelled out shots fired at the police over her radio and followed Vanessa down an alley and into a convenience store. They paused before going in, Hailey silently confirming back-up was on the way. She helped her clear the store and get civilians to safety. Hailey was going up and down an aisle when she heard Vanessa’s voice again.</p><p>“Sammy, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you, I’m here to help”, she tried to reason.</p><p>It sounded like she was successful in talking him down. That was until Hailey heard a father and his daughter come out from one of the aisles. This was not going to end well, she had that feeling.</p><p>Hailey heard Sammy become aggressive once again, leaving Rojas no choice but to shoot him. She wasn’t going to let him hurt an innocent man and child. Hailey quickly radioed for more help, trying to console Rojas in the process.</p><p>“I’m going to go meet the paramedics, okay. Keep pressure on his chest”, Hailey yelled out, a scene all too familiar playing out in her mind. Jay getting shot felt like ages ago, when it reality it wasn’t that far in the past. Seeing such a young kid lying on the floor, bleeding from his chest almost exactly where Jay had been, made her shudder.</p><p>She quickly removed herself from the store, took a deep breath and directed the paramedics and other police once they arrived.</p><p>She went back into the store to find Rojas hyperventilating, trying to make sense of what just happened. To make matters worse, Sammy didn’t actually have his gun on him anymore. He was reaching for nothing when Vanessa shot him.</p><p>“Hailey, he had the gun. We saw him….he”, Rojas stuttered.</p><p>“I know. Hey, listen to me. Don’t do this to yourself. You had no choice, don’t question it. You made the right call”, Hailey said calmly as she felt her phone buzz.</p><p>“Hey, look- this is Jay. He said Sammy is in ICU but stable, the doctor’s are optimistic.”</p><p>She saw Vanessa let out a small sigh of relief. </p><p>“It’s going to be okay”, Hailey consoled her. They walked away from the crime scene, Hailey making sure that Vanessa was okay getting to Med by herself.</p><p>Once things were wrapped up at the scene, Hailey drove herself home, ready for a hot bath and maybe some pizza.</p><p>Almost on cue, she pulled up to her house, finding the familiar grey truck out front, and smiled. Looks like she did have a hot date waiting for her after all.</p><p>Jay got out as she did, Lou’s in hand. She thanked him silently, and was convinced he could read her mind.</p><p>“The last time I came here with Lou’s you were down for the count, so…”, Jay smiled.</p><p>“You read my mind”, Hailey grinned, ushering him into her house.</p><p>They had their thing. Hailey realized they hadn’t done this in such a long time. Well, not officially. They spent copious amounts of time together sure, but the last few months had been hectic in the personal and work lives. So in a way, it was nice to just have pizza and beer with Jay and watch the Blackhawks without saying anything else.</p><p>“You gonna come to watch our charity hockey game tomorrow?” Jay asked.</p><p>“What game?” Hailey looked at him confused.</p><p>“There’s been posters up at the district all week”, Jay chuckled at his usually very observant, not observant partner.</p><p>“Oh”, Hailey smiled. “I didn’t realize you were playing.”</p><p>“Of course. Cops versus firefighters, going to be a good one.”</p><p>“When was the last time you skated?” Hailey laughed.</p><p>Jay rolled his eyes, “Hey, it’s been a while. But it’s just like riding a bike Hails.”</p><p>“Whatever you say. But yes, I’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss seeing you skate around like Bambi out there for the world. On Valentines Day no less.”</p><p>Jay smacked her with a pillow and finished his beer. He wasn’t staying over tonight, which was fine by Hailey. He could see she was tired. Plus he couldn’t expect staying over every time they had a night in, that was creeping into dangerous territory.</p><p>“Night Hails, see you tomorrow”, he waved as he walked back to his truck.</p><p>“See you Jay.” Hailey smiled and shut her door, waiting for Rojas to get back.</p><p>XX</p><p>As promised, Jay looked up and saw Hailey in the stands the following afternoon. He gave her a small wave, she smiled back. Something that Kelly Severide noticed.</p><p>“So you and Upton, huh?” He teased.</p><p>Jay immediately blushed, and put a stone face back on. “No, we’re just partners.”</p><p>“Right. Well make sure to score a few goals today, impress her”, he skated away and laughed. Jay tapped him with his stick as they finished their warm up.</p><p>Kelly winked at Stella, who was sitting next to Hailey.</p><p>Hailey looked over at Stella, it was clear that her and Kelly were over the moon for each other. She was envious. In a way that made her optimistic for the future with Jay. If Kelly and Stella could make it, after everything that they had been through, there was hope.</p><p>The game was going well, it was surprisingly competitive for a charity event. That didn’t surprise the girls in the crowd though, throw 20 plus males into a sporting event and things were definitely going to get rowdy. There was still no score heading into the final minutes of the game. </p><p>Hailey was watching Jay, he was surprisingly good for not playing for so many years. He was naturally athletic, his skating was smooth. But all of a sudden, she saw him collide with someone from Engine at center ice, and he went down- hard. </p><p>She didn’t think anything of it at first, she figured he got the wind knocked out of him. That was until she saw him on all fours, his stomach heaving. She could hear him about to be sick from where she was sitting.</p><p>“Oh, that’s not good”, Stella whispered, looking to Hailey who looked frozen in time.</p><p>Hailey was processing what was going on, he must have been hit in the head. </p><p>Kelly and Adam were by his side, Kelly trying to get his helmet off for him so that he could be sick. </p><p>She didn’t realize it, but everyone was looking to Hailey to see what she was going to do.</p><p>“Do you think he’s okay?” Hailey asked Stella nervously.</p><p>Her response wasn’t exactly reassuring. </p><p>“It looks like he got hit in the head. I think he needs to get to a hospital”, she said as they watched them try to help Jay up.</p><p>Hailey could see it on his face right away, he did not look alright. Especially when they got him standing, his legs folded from under him immediately, and he needed help getting off the ice.</p><p>Kelly and Adam skated off with him as Hailey and Stella rushed down to the locker room.</p><p>“He’ll be alright, just need to get him checked out”, Stella rubbed Hailey’s back, sensing that she was nervous. She too knew that Jay was shot recently, and had some other injuries going on. </p><p>The two women found themselves in the locker room, Kelly waiting for them outside.</p><p>“Is he okay?” Hailey asked him at the door.</p><p>Kelly hesitated, “I’m not really sure. I think he needs to be checked out.”</p><p>Adam had already gone back on the ice, they could hear celebrating from down the tunnel. Hoping that meant PD had won. But that wasn’t really important at the moment. Hailey and Stella entered the change room, finding a half dressed Jay sitting on the bench.</p><p>Hailey approached him first, sitting down next to him- eyeing him up. He looked pale and a bit out of sorts. She handed him the sports drink sitting next to her, encouraging him to take a few sips.</p><p>“You alright?” She asked him quietly. Stella was watching him carefully too. Training as a paramedic was coming in handy right now.</p><p>Jay took a few deep breaths in, not replying right away. That caused Hailey to put a hand on his bare back. He was sweaty and smelled like hockey equipment, but that didn’t really matter right now.</p><p>“Guys, I’m fine. Don’t worry honestly. Just got the wind knocked out of me”, he told them confidently. </p><p>Stella’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Jay, you couldn’t skate off on your own power. I think you might have a concussion.”</p><p>Hailey nodded in agreement, “I’m going to take you to the hospital okay?”</p><p>Jay got defensive about that, didn’t like it one bit. “No, I don’t think that’s necessary. I’m sorry for making you guys worried, honestly. I’m fine.”</p><p>The women looked at each other then looked to Jay who had stood up abruptly. He started taking the rest of his equipment off, clearly unaware that he was about to get naked in front of Hailey and Stella.</p><p>Stella looked at Hailey, who burst out laughing. She was surprised that his partner wasn’t the least bit awkward about this. </p><p>“I’m going to leave now”, Stella said through a smile as Jay continued to undress. </p><p>Hailey couldn’t stop laughing, even through a serious moment. </p><p>“Jay, you could have at least waited until Stella was gone”, she chuckled.</p><p>He looked dazed anyways, seeing him naked was the least of Hailey’s concerns at the moment. She was concerned for his head. So, she helped him get the rest of his equipment off and into the shower, trying to avoid taking a peek.</p><p>After a few minutes, Jay was out and had a towel wrapped around himself. Hailey couldn’t help but stare at his chiselled body. </p><p>By the time he was getting dressed in regular clothes again, the game was over. PD yelling down the tunnel that they won, Adam scored.</p><p>“Hear that Jay, you guys won!” Stella yelled from outside of the change room.</p><p>Hailey had come out once Jay was dressed, as she was about to be bombarded by a group of smelly men, who were also going to get naked and shower.</p><p>“Is Jay okay?” Kelly asked Hailey as he passed by her to get to the other locker room.</p><p>Hailey hummed, not convinced that Jay was okay. </p><p>“I think I’m going to take him to the emergency room”, she said. </p><p>“That’s a good idea. Get him checked out just in case”, Kelly agreed.</p><p>“It’s just getting him there that’s the problem. He’s stubborn.”</p><p>“Did you drive here?” Kelly asked.</p><p>“I came with Kevin. Jay’s truck is here though I can just drive us in that.”</p><p>“Sounds good, let me or Stella know if you need anything.” </p><p>“Thanks Kelly”, Hailey replied as she waited for Jay. </p><p>He came out of the locker room looking not great, his face pale and his eyes unfocused. </p><p>“Hey”, she said gently, putting a hand on his back, walking next to him. </p><p>“I’m sorry for scaring you”, he said quietly. </p><p>“It’s alright. I’m glad you’re okay. It was hard seeing you skate off like that”, Hailey voiced her fears for once.</p><p>“Are we going to the hospital?” Jay asked nervously.</p><p>She understood his hesitation, he hated hospitals. But she also wasn’t going to take a chance with a head injury either.</p><p>“Yes we are. I would feel better if you got checked out.”</p><p>“Okay. But just for you”, Jay agreed reluctantly. </p><p>“I’ll take that. Come on let’s go”, Hailey ushered him to his truck, hopping in the driver’s seat. The rest of 51 and the 21st watching them speed off.</p><p>“I hope Halstead’s alright”, Kelly turned to Stella who had a slight grin on her face.</p><p>“I think he’s in good hands”, she replied cheekily. </p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey walked into emerg with her hand on Jay’s back. The adrenaline started wearing off on the drive over, she could tell he was in pain.</p><p>Will spotted them walk in, half rolling his eyes, half worried when he saw Jay looking a bit out of it. </p><p>“What happened?” He put a hand on Jay’s elbow, who tried to shrug it off.</p><p>“Got hit during the charity hockey game this afternoon. He was throwing up on the ice. Took an elbow to the head”, Hailey filled in the blanks for Will.</p><p>He shook his own head, guiding Jay to an exam room. </p><p>“You guys are over-reacting, I’m feeling better now”, Jay barely got out before he felt a wave of nausea. Luckily, Will saw and reacted in time, holding a basin out in front of his brother who started throwing up again.</p><p>“Like hell you are. You’re going to get a CT and stay here for a while so we can monitor you for a concussion”, Will said motioning for Hailey to take the basin from him. </p><p>She did so willingly, rubbing Jay’s back with her other free hand. “It’s alright”, she whispered, knowing he wasn’t feeling well. </p><p>Jay just nodded at Will, knowing deep down he was right. Coming off a concussion after the Angela thing a few weeks ago too was not helping his “I’m fine” argument. <br/>Will left to go get the tests ordered as Jay sat back in the bed. </p><p>Hailey set everything down, and put her hand over his. That caused Jay to open his eyes again, regretting it as the fluorescent lighting was starting to bother him too. </p><p>“Thanks Hailey”, Jay whispered as he linked his fingers with hers.</p><p>“Of course. Rest your eyes, we’re going to be here for a while”, she sat down next to him and comforted him quietly until Will got back.</p><p>XX</p><p>Several hours had gone by, Hailey was glad that Jay agreed to come to the hospital because he definitely became more symptomatic as time passed. </p><p>His vision was blurry and he had a pounding headache. The nausea from the bright lights wasn’t helping either. </p><p>Hailey had shifted from the uncomfortable chair to next to Jay in the hospital bed. Will had been coming in periodically to check on them. He gave Hailey a look when he saw Jay’s head resting against her shoulder. She shrugged and grinned. </p><p>“I’m glad you came in Jay, your big head got you in trouble again”, Will joked.</p><p>“Can I go home now?” He asked with his eyes closed, his head still resting against Hailey.</p><p>“Yes, you can go home now. But you have a concussion, you need to rest for a few days alright? No screens, try to sleep as much as you can. Hailey are you…?” Will inquired.</p><p>“Ya, I’ll stay with him tonight”, she replied, knowing what Will was really asking.</p><p>“Okay perfect, thank you. He’s fine to take Tylenol or Advil. No caffeine or alcohol.” Will instructed, that caused Jay to pout. Hailey and Will laughed.</p><p>“Trust me Jay, it’s for the best. Minor concussion, but you still need to be careful.”</p><p>“I know. Thanks Will.” Jay replied.</p><p>Hailey helped him get his coat on and walked with him out to his truck. He was moving slowly, but more steady than earlier- thankfully.</p><p>He was quiet on the way home, she suspected a growing headache was the problem.</p><p>Once they were back at his house, she got him into bed and shut the door, trying to figure out what she was going to make for dinner. She had a bunch of texts from 51 and the unit, all asking how Jay was.</p><p>She replied to each of them, Kelly and Stella last- thanking them for their help today.</p><p>“Of course. We’re glad Jay’s okay. Don’t make anything for dinner, we just sent something over to you guys”, Stella messaged back. </p><p>Bless her, Hailey thought. She was tired and didn’t really feel like cooking. About half an hour later, Thai food arrived at Jay’s door. She heard him get out of bed at the sound of the door knocking and venture into the kitchen. He had changed into more comfortable clothes, the colour in his face had come back slightly, although he looked more groggy than usual. </p><p>He managed to eat some noodles and drank water. Hailey had dimmed the lights in the living room so they weren’t as bright. </p><p>“You know, we really have to stop doing this”, Jay laughed, acknowledging how much they had taken care of one another these past few months.</p><p>“Stop taking care of you? Never”, Hailey teased as she finished her meal. </p><p>“I haven’t had a Valentine in forever”, Jay joked.</p><p>“You’re lucky I didn’t have a hot date planned tonight”, Hailey treaded lightly.</p><p>Jay flashed her a half smile, shaking his head. </p><p>“Thanks for being here Hails”, he said more seriously. </p><p>“Always Jay.”</p><p>They stared at each other silently for a few seconds, before Jay yawned and excused himself to go back to bed.</p><p>“I’ll be in later”, Hailey confirmed as she watched him walk back to his room.</p><p>A few hours later, Jay was feeling sort of crappy, tossing and turning in bed. He heard his door creak open, and small footsteps move toward the bed. </p><p>Hailey crawled in without saying another word, he turned towards her as she gently threw an arm around his back. He felt his stress dissipate, hearing her slow breaths and smelling her lavender shampoo calmed him in ways that no one else could. </p><p>Even concussed, he was hyper aware of her presence. He craved it. He groaned a bit when he shifted positions, his headache becoming more intense. She felt him tense up and gently touched the back of his head, a handful of his hair in her fingers. Her thumb caressed where he was hit, it was tender, but her touch soothed him. Her other hand was running along his spine rhythmically. He reached his hand up to wrap it around her wrist, holding on to her like his own personal lifeline. He did that until his eyes felt heavy and he drifted back to sleep with Hailey by his side on Valentine’s Day.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. I want to help you carry it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 15</p><p>Hailey didn’t get much sleep that night. She was too paranoid checking on Jay, making sure he was still breathing. Every slight movement he made had her on edge and wide awake, ready to intervene if his head injury got worse.</p><p>At some point, probably around 4 in the morning if she had to estimate, she finally did drift off to sleep herself, her body caving to the exhaustion. Just as the warm light from the sunrise was peaking through his window, Hailey jolted herself awake. At first, she forgot where she was, but quickly realized when she felt a pair of hands wrapped around her body.</p><p>Hailey was turned on her side, away from Jay. But somehow, at some point in the night he had crept closer and closer to her side of the bed, tangling his feet with hers. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him. She could feel his chin resting on her shoulder, his scruff tickling her back. They had slept in the same bed many times before, but they had never been this close. This was a new level of intimate for them. She didn’t think Jay did it on purpose, well maybe he did, but the likelihood was that he pulled her in while he was fast asleep as well. His sleep self doing what his awake self couldn’t.</p><p>She craved his touch as much as she craved him. They rarely touched, both scared of what the physical intimacy would hold for them. If they crossed the line, even if that was only a hug, would they ever be able to go back? Hailey didn’t think she could. In a way, it made her smile.</p><p>She stayed lying there, listening to Jay breathing in and out, feeling his breath on the back of her neck. It was oddly calming to her. A few minutes went by, peacefully, until things changed. Jay’s breathing became more erratic and she could feel his body twitching against hers. At first she thought he was waking up, but how wrong she was. </p><p>“Jay?” She whispered quietly, still afraid to move him.</p><p>That was when the whimpering started. His heart was racing against her back. He was mumbling something about a mouse, and how they couldn’t leave anyone behind. It broke her heart. He was in a deep sleep, but what he was saying out loud seemed very real to her, and to him. She also recognized that she was in a bit of a vulnerable position. She wasn’t facing him and he had his arms wrapped tightly around her, even tighter after the nightmare started. If she made any sudden movements, she was worried he might react poorly. She trusted Jay, and knew he would never do anything to hurt her intentionally, but in this state he could be unpredictable. </p><p>“Jay…Jay…it’s okay, you’re alright”, she said softly trying to get him to wake up calmly. </p><p>He was full blown crying now, his body shaking against hers aggressively. Hailey reached down and gently put one of her own hands over his that were resting against her stomach. She ran her thumb over his hand, trying to get him to loosen his grip so she could turn to face him.</p><p>“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re okay”, she kept repeating until the tremors subsided just enough for her to wiggle around to face him. </p><p>She took a quick look at him, his face scrunched up in pain. Physical and emotional pain. She reached up to brush the tears away that were rolling down his cheeks. As soon as her hand made contact with his face his eyes instantly opened, his body going into full on fight or flight mode. At first she was scared he was going to be in fight mode so she raised her arms ready to fend him off, but instead he did the opposite. </p><p>He saw the fear in her eyes, her arms raised ready to protect herself. And that made him feel worse than anything else. He oriented himself, his head still pounding. But realized he was holding Hailey in very close proximity. How did that happen? Is she okay with this? He wondered. He didn’t say anything at first, his body was still hopped up on adrenaline, he could feel the tears brimming in his eyes and he couldn’t hold them back anymore. More spilled out, his chest heaving trying to calm his breathing down. She looked at him sympathetically and didn’t say a word either. His green eyes were level with her blue ones, their noses so close to touching on the same pillow that he wondered how long they had been lying together like this. His hands were clasped around her back. How much he wished this was happening under different circumstances.</p><p>“I’m sorry Hailey”, he choked out. She didn’t respond in the way he expected her too, he knew he startled her. </p><p>“Don’t be sorry Jay. It’s fine, I’m fine. See”, she pulled away from his face to show him that he didn’t hurt her.</p><p>“No it’s not, I scared you”, he whispered.</p><p>“You didn’t scare me. You were scared, and that’s okay.” She rested one of her hands against his chest, feeling his heart beat through his shirt. Her other hand reached up to wipe a few of his tears away.</p><p>Jay was scared. He knew exactly what had happened. The same thing that’s been happening for years, and will probably always happen regardless of how good his life is, or how many therapists he sees. There is a part of his brain that will always be in Afghanistan, and he didn’t know how to lock it away for good. </p><p>He nodded, acknowledging her statement that he was scared. </p><p>“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked quietly. </p><p>“Not really. I don’t want you to carry this too”, he said with a small voice.</p><p>He didn’t really know why they were whispering, they were alone in his apartment. Just the two of them sharing the same pillow, staring into each other’s eyes, unable to look away. He felt exposed, naked almost.</p><p>“Tell me Jay. I want to help you carry it”, she replied genuinely. </p><p>He paused, unsure if he was ready or willing to share the entire story with her, the entire mess that both of his deployments were. There were too many things to tell her. All of them shocking and brutal and vivid images that he wish could be unseen.</p><p>She didn’t pull away or put any walls up. She was lying here with him while he was in the darkest most vulnerable version of himself, allowing him to talk it out.</p><p>He started to tell her about Afghanistan, a subject that had been brought up between the two of them before but never fully discussed. She knew he had demons, she witnessed them multiple times, comforted him when he needed it, but never heard the ‘why’ behind it all. She never pushed, which he appreciated. He looked at her now, wide awake at 6 am with him, not flinching at his hands still around her back, and decided to cave to those big blue eyes begging him to let her in.</p><p>Before he knew it, he was opening up about the kids, and the dogs, and the villages. That quickly turned into the carnage, the blood, the smells, that time when only him and Mouse made it out alive. Throughout all of it she just listened, even when things got tough and he felt her own heart start to race. No doubt because of the graphic amount of details he was revealing. It was shocking, even to him after all of these years. Saying it out loud solidified how real it really was, something that was hardwired into his brain. The pain of it felt fresh after all this time, still. He didn’t realize it at first but at some point Hailey had snaked her own arms around his back, while he cocooned her in his. She didn’t pull back like he thought she would after all of that. Instead she had pulled him in closer. Holding the broken pieces of him together. </p><p>An hour flew by, Jay rehashing all of the bad memories he could think of. Part of him felt guilty for telling her. He didn’t want her to dream about those things too. He wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy. But in a way it felt good to let it out. Once he started, it was like a faucet, he couldn’t turn it off. No one knew even half of these things. Maybe Mouse, but even then, there were some things that the two of them never spoke about either. It was an unwritten code they had between them. Sure Mouse saw the things Jay did. But there were things Mouse saw and Jay didn’t, and vice versa. There was too much trauma, too many terrible things, neither wanted to add to the other’s pain. </p><p>At the end he just let out a big breath, signalling to his partner that he was done. That was all he had in him for this morning. She smiled softly and nodded at him, their eyes still dangerously close. </p><p>“Thank you Jay”, she rubbed her hands along his mid back. </p><p>He could barely speak, his voice was hoarse from all the talking and crying he had just done. But he felt the familiar lump in his throat again when she thanked him. He really should be thanking her. All that came out was a nod, his eyes lowering, trying to avoid her searing gaze. There would be no going back if he acted on what he wanted to right now. He knew she was thinking it too, he could feel the energy between them. But he didn’t want it to happen like this. They stayed like that for a few more minutes, allowing Jay to catch his breath and calm himself down. Hailey’s hands stayed rubbing his back, giving him the support and the warmth that he needed.</p><p>“How’s your head?” She thankfully changed the subject.</p><p>Jay had almost forgotten that he had a concussion, maybe that’s why he was feeling overly emotional too. He tilted his head up again to look at her, squinting at the full sun through his window now.</p><p>“It hurts”, he admitted, the pressure building in his skull.</p><p>“Do you need anything? You should try and go back to sleep. Get some rest”, she whispered.</p><p>He didn’t say anything at first, which to her meant he did need something so she started to pull away from him to get up. Instead of letting her go, he locked his hands behind her back. </p><p>“Can we just lie here…like this”, he bravely asked. </p><p>“We can”, she smiled at him, her shoulders relaxing, the tension leaving her body too.</p><p>“Thank you Hailey”, he whispered as she allowed him to snuggle in close to her again. His head found a resting place tucked against her shoulder. Her arm wrapped behind his neck, the other on his back. She cradled him against her, gently running her thumb along his hairline where it met his neck, rubbing his back until he fell asleep again. </p><p>XX</p><p>They woke up hours later, their early morning talk taking a lot out of Jay. Hailey couldn’t stay in bed any longer, even though she wanted to. By ten in the morning she was antsy to have a coffee. She left Jay where he was, suspecting he would be there for most of the day anyways. She pulled his curtains all the way shut, blocking out the bright light so that he could get as much rest as possible. </p><p>She wandered out to the kitchen, made herself a coffee and breakfast and caught up with the morning headlines. Since it was the weekend she didn’t technically have to do any work, but she was going to be here for the foreseeable future so she might as well get ahead on some of their paperwork and reports that she had been putting off. </p><p>Her and Jay usually switched off on the paperwork part of their jobs, it really was his turn, but she would take one for the team and do it. His head was killing him, there was no way he was going to be reading any fine print this weekend.</p><p>Will called to check on Jay, Hailey left out the morning meltdown but told him the truth otherwise. He slept more than she did, although she wasn’t sure how good quality it was.</p><p>“That’s to be expected. His brain needs a few days to chill. He’ll probably be a little restless. But just keep giving him medicine if he needs it, drink lots of water and sleep.” Will told her.</p><p>“I was nervous to let him sleep for too long last night, I think I was up half the night just staring at him, making sure he was breathing”, Hailey chuckled into the phone.</p><p>She could hear Will laughing too, but she couldn’t see the amusement on his face from hearing her casually admit that she slept in Jay’s bed with him.</p><p>“Sleep is good. Times have changed with concussion care. After the initial injury it’s important to stay up to make sure there isn’t any bleeding in the brain. But Jay’s past that now, and he’s had scans done. He’s okay to sleep Hailey I promise”, Will reassured her.</p><p>“Okay if you say so. He was pretty groggy this morning, I’m worried about him”, she quietly admitted, more so emotionally than physically.</p><p>Will smiled from ear to ear. “I know Hails. But he’s going to be alright. This isn’t his first concussion unfortunately, each one takes more of a toll. He just needs some rest for a few days.”</p><p>Hearing Will call her Hails was amusing to her. Guess that was sticking.</p><p>“Thanks Will, I’ll check in with you later”, she told him before hanging up. </p><p>Several hours went by before Jay resurfaced. He woke up feeling out of sorts, and a bit nauseous really. He tried to sit up in bed, but quickly regretted it. His head was throbbing, and his vision was a little blurry. He clumsily reached around his night stand for his glasses. He wore them once in a blue moon, sometimes at night. He didn’t even think Hailey has seen him wear them before. He pulled himself out of bed slowly making his way to the living room.</p><p>Her head perked up when she heard his door open. She studied him carefully as he walked towards her, he looked unwell. But she smiled when she saw him with his glasses on, he looked so cute.</p><p>“Hey four eyes”, she joked, getting a grin out of him with that comment.</p><p>“Figured I can use all the help I can get with my vision right now”, he joked, but Hailey didn’t find that as amusing.</p><p>“What’s wrong with your vision?” She said nervously.</p><p>“Just feeling a bit blurry, this has happened before. It goes away don’t worry”, he replied.</p><p>“Okay”, she said slowly. “Do you want anything to eat?” </p><p>Jay contemplated that for a second, looking around realizing it was lunch time. His stomach growled.</p><p>“I really want a coffee”, he said testing her.</p><p>“Nice try. No caffeine for a few days. How about some juice?”</p><p>Jay nodded, feeling like the sugar might help give him a boost. </p><p>“Alright, I’ll make some toast too”, Hailey stated, even though Jay didn’t really feel like eating.</p><p>She brought it over to the couch a few minutes later, watching him carefully. He was pale still. </p><p>“Better?” She asked him as he forced the toast down. </p><p>He shrugged his shoulders. “Not really. I feel really nauseous. But the juice helped.”</p><p>She looked disappointed, in the fact that she couldn’t really do much for him.</p><p>“That’s good. You want to go back to bed?” She asked.</p><p>“I’m going stir crazy”, he shook his head no.</p><p>“I know. But Will said you need to sleep it off”, she said as she watched him stifle a yawn.</p><p>“Come on, back to bed”, she grabbed at his arm, gently pulling him off the couch.</p><p>He nodded reluctantly, crawling back into bed as Hailey tucked him in. </p><p>“I have to work on some paperwork, but I’m right outside if you need anything”, she told him.</p><p>He nodded at her again with his eyes closed, he could feel his body shutting down. The smell of lavender still lingering on his pillow.<br/>XX</p><p>A few more hours went by as Hailey worked on paperwork from Jay’s kitchen. She had poked her head in a few times to check on him but he seemed to being doing okay so she let him rest undisturbed. Sleeping it off, just as Will said.</p><p>It was close to dinner by the time that Jay came out of his bedroom again, looking a little more like himself.</p><p>“Hey, how are you feeling?” Hailey asked as Jay approached her sitting at his kitchen table.</p><p>He hummed and hah’d, hesitating just a bit, evaluating how his body was feeling.</p><p>“I’m actually feeling a lot better. Sleeping… all day…helped”, he said checking the time, surprised at how late it was. He never slept this long.</p><p>Hailey chuckled at that, he looked confused by the time. “You needed the rest.” </p><p>He smiled, sitting down next to her to see what she was working on.</p><p>“Hailey, you’ve been doing this all day? You didn’t have to”, Jay said stunned at how caught up she was on their ever behind pile of paperwork. There were case reports in here that had been outstanding for weeks.</p><p>“It’s fine Jay, I needed something to pass the time. Couldn’t listen to you snore all day”, she teased. </p><p>He rolled his eyes. “First, I do not snore. Only when I’m sick or really tired. So this may have been an exception day. And secondly, thank you for looking after me yesterday and today.” He flashed her his signature dimple filled grin that made her melt every time. </p><p>“You’re welcome. Would you like something to eat now?” She got up to head into the kitchen before Jay stopped her.</p><p>“You’ve done enough today. Let’s order take-out, my treat”, Jay replied.</p><p>“Twist my arm”, she laughed as Jay chose something he was craving. </p><p>Their food arrived and the two of them sat down on the couch to eat. Italian was a good choice, it was frigid out and nothing hit the spot as much as some comfort carbs and cheese.</p><p>The TV was off, Hailey didn’t want to push it with the screen time. Although Jay said he was feeling better, she didn’t fully believe him. </p><p>“You look good in glasses”, Hailey blurted out while staring at Jay across the couch.<br/>He gave her a little side grin, not expecting the compliment.</p><p>“I never wear these in front of anyone. Count yourself lucky Upton.”</p><p>Hailey’s turn to giggle, “I know. Special”, she sipped her tea.</p><p>“Yes, you are”, Jay replied back instantaneously, his cheeks rosy afterwards.</p><p>Hailey shook her head and smiled, averting her eyes from Jay. They finished their dinner in silence.</p><p>XX</p><p>A few hours later, Hailey had been unsuccessful in trying to get Jay to go back to bed. So, they compromised and Hailey had been reading him a book instead. A strange arrangement, but nonetheless a good alternative to TV. Jay’s head was starting to lull back and forth, she could see him start to get tired.</p><p>“Jay, why don’t you go to bed, it’s late now you’re tired”, she tried to reason with him.</p><p>“No, not yet”, he replied. She sensed his aversion to going back to bed didn’t have much to do with how tired he was but more so that he was nervous about having a nightmare again.</p><p>“Alright, but close your eyes. I’ll keep reading”, she caved to him.</p><p>Jay did as he was told and pulled a blanket up over his shoulders, wiggling closer to Hailey on the couch. She smiled when she felt his head rest against her shoulder and his body relax into hers.</p><p>A little while later, she could hear his breathing change and realized he had fallen asleep. Finally, she thought. She gently put the book down next to her and enveloped Jay in a hug. </p><p>It’s like he had been waiting for her to accept him into her arms because as soon as she made the slightest movement, Jay was right there pressed against her chest.</p><p>Hailey laughed silently, her upper body now supporting most of Jay’s body weight. Her tiny arms barely fit around his shoulders and back, but she made it work. Jay’s right arm was thrown across Hailey’s body, protecting her. She returned the favour by placing one arm behind his back, the other supporting his right shoulder area. He seemed content so she left him be for now, allowing her eyes to shut too.</p><p>Will used his key to get into Jay’s apartment after his shift. Hailey wasn’t answering his calls or texts and he was getting a little worried. They could be asleep, it had been a long few days. But he wanted to make sure things were alright.</p><p>He opened the door, and immediately saw a poof of blonde hair sticking up over the backrest of the couch. He felt relieved that she was still here with Jay.</p><p>“Hailey?” He called out softly. But she didn’t answer him. His heart rate skyrocketed, expecting the worst, especially when he poked his head into Jay’s room and found the bed empty. But by the time he made his way over to the couch his frown immediately turned into a smile. </p><p>Hailey and Jay were lying there together, Jay out cold in her arms. He watched them silently for a few moments, Jay wiggling himself closer to his partner with every breath. Hailey’s hand was resting against his back, holding him against her. Will didn’t dare move or make a sound. If this was how Jay was able to stay asleep, all the power to Hailey. Usually by now the simple sound of Will’s footsteps would have immediately jolted his brother awake. But Jay seemed content as he was, and so did Hailey. Will pulled a blanket from the other couch and gently covered the two of them, sneaking out the front door and leaving Hailey to do the rest.</p><p>He wasn’t sure what the future held for his brother and Hailey, but for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t worried about Jay. What he was sure about was that Jay was in good hands, even now, concussed and in pain. He was confident that whenever Jay was hurting, he would have a safe place to turn to in Hailey. That he would always be able to seek refuge and comfort in the arms of his partner.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. You did a good thing Jay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 16</p><p>Several weeks had passed, and Jay’s concussion had finally healed. Hailey and Will had been keeping an eye on him, Voight allowing him to come off desk duty the second he was cleared. So, Hailey had driven him herself to his appointment.</p><p>“What you don’t trust me?” Jay joked.</p><p>“No, in this case- not at all”, Hailey chuckled back. Jay had a habit of underplaying his injuries, she wasn’t going to let this one slide.</p><p>She waited outside while he met with the doctor at Med, someone he had never seen before. If he had to guess, that was on purpose. Voight knew Will and the rest of the usual doctors well and that Jay would be more likely to persuade them to clear him even if he was still hurt.</p><p>“So any dizziness, headaches, nausea?” The doctor asked.</p><p>“No, that’s all cleared up”, Jay answered honestly. </p><p>“Good. And your shoulder? I see here you were recently involved in an on-duty injury.”</p><p>“I’m fine, that’s already been cleared”, Jay quickly snapped back, not wanting the doctor to probe any further. If he was being completely honest with himself, his shoulder was nowhere near 100%. It was okay, but he still had days where the pain and stiffness was lingering. No one knew that, not even Hailey.</p><p>The doctor eyed his response to that, doing a quick range of motion and manual muscle test on his left shoulder. Jay winced when he raised his arm abruptly over his head, but quickly tried to stifle his facial reaction. With some luck, it seemed like he didn’t notice. </p><p>The doctor turned his back and Jay let out the breath he was holding in, gently massaging the area around the scar that the bullet left behind. </p><p>“I’ve seen your injured on duty record Detective… you’ve had a hell of a run. 6 broken fingers, one broken wrist, 5 broken ribs, lacerated skull, over 100 stitches, and it’s not the first time you’ve been shot. Chicago Med should give you frequent flier miles.” He said it half joking, half in awe that the man in front of him was still holding himself upright.</p><p>Jay hesitated, grimacing as he remembered each and every one of the mentioned injuries. How his ring finger on his right hand wasn’t quite straight anymore, how his wrist sometimes hurt when it rained, and when he was sick if he coughed too hard all of his ribs ached. All of those were painful reminders of his job, his choices. Looking back, he would do it all again, he had no regrets. </p><p>“Look, I don’t know what else you want me to say. I feel strong, and ready to go back to work”, Jay replied, his heart beating waiting for a response.</p><p>Outside, Hailey waited for Jay like she told him she would. He was taking a little longer than expected and it was making her feel a bit nervous. She knew his track record, and the last few months had been especially hard. Just then she heard his footsteps coming around the corner towards her. </p><p>“You good to go? What did the doctor say?” Hailey asked, she was unable to read his expression at first.</p><p>“Good to go. He said moving forward, to wear a helmet and avoid bullets, that lead was bad for my health”, Jay told her with a smirk.</p><p>Hailey rolled her eyes and grinned. “Alright, I already talked to Voight he wants us partnered up again.”</p><p>“So you can keep an eye on me?” Jay probed teasingly.</p><p>“That, and because we’re good together and I asked him. Is that okay with you?”, she sassed right back.</p><p>“It is”, he flashed her one of his signature grins as they waited for the elevator. </p><p>XX</p><p>Jay and Hailey ended up getting called to a bank robbery later that morning. When they arrived, Jay got caught in the crossfire’s with the robbery crew. He ducked behind a concrete pillar, the storefront window exploding right next to him as he heard the bullets whiz by. They got away, but Jay shot back, hoping he didn’t hurt anyone else in the process. That’s when he heard a scream from behind a vehicle, and he rushed towards it. An innocent bystander had been hit, a woman was crouched down trying to help him.</p><p>“5021 George, roll an ambo to my location, got a civilian down”, Jay called over the radio. By that point, Hailey had caught up with him, surveying the scene.</p><p>“I heard the gunshots, you alright?” She asked him when the paramedics took over for him with the injured civilian.</p><p>“Yeah, that happened fast”, he replied.</p><p>“Hell of a first day back”, Hailey mumbled, giving him a once over making sure he was still in one piece. </p><p>Jay ran off to take the witnesses’ statement and try to figure out what just happened.</p><p>XX</p><p>Back at the district, Intelligence was combing through security cameras and evidence when something popped up. Jay mumbled some profanity under his breath.</p><p>“That’s the witness I interviewed at the scene. She was helping that man who was shot”, he informed the team. Jay hated when people lied to him, and he was not in the mood today. He took off in his truck with Hailey to try and get to the bottom of this story.</p><p>XX</p><p>He walked into her flower shop, pausing as she made eye contact with him, he recognized the urge in her body language to flee.</p><p>“You want to tell me your real name?” Jay asked bluntly.</p><p>“It’s Michelle”, she said quietly, knowing that she was caught in the mess now.</p><p>“Alright Michelle, why don’t you tell me what happened at the bank this morning, for real this time”, Jay tried again.</p><p>Before Michelle had a chance to reply, he saw her eyes darting to the window behind him. A man was standing out front talking on the phone, and Michelle seemed nervous. Jay didn’t have a chance to ask before he came into the store. She gave Jay a look that begged him to play along, so he did.</p><p>“Hi babe”, the mystery man said, kissing Michelle on the cheek. </p><p>To anyone else, that would have just seemed like a normal interaction between two people in a relationship. But not to Jay. He instantly saw the fear in Michelle’s eyes, the way her body tensed up when he came close to her, flinching at his seemingly otherwise gentle touch. Jay didn’t like what was going on here already.</p><p>But, he was playing a role after all and snapped out of it when the guy asked him who he was buying flowers for. </p><p>“My girlfriend”, Jay replied quickly, a familiar blonde face coming to mind all too easily.</p><p>“You have to go with the red roses then, timeless. Chicks love them”, the guy behind the counter told Jay. Something about him made Jay despise him already.</p><p>“Well in that case sure, whatever you think”, Jay played along and left the shop with a dozen red roses in tow. He opened the door to his truck, Hailey beaming, the sunlight highlighting her blonde hair. </p><p>“For me? What a guy”, she teased as he hopped in and set the flowers on the passenger seat.</p><p>Jay smiled, “Don’t say I never gave you anything.” They laughed but there was a serious undertone to his gesture. He had never really put much thought into figuring out what type of flowers Hailey liked, if any. Not until now anyways, but suddenly he wanted to know.</p><p>He snapped out of it as he listened as Hailey brought him up to speed on Michelle and her husband.</p><p>“Let me guess, he just got out after serving an armed robbery sentence”, Jay replied as she gave him the gist of who they were dealing with.</p><p>“See, told you we work well together”, she smirked at him. He bit his lip and grinned, he had to look away. Her dimples were too much for him to handle today.</p><p>XX</p><p>They spent the rest of the day figuring out what their plan was. It came down to Hailey and Jay confronting Michelle and convincing her to help them. Hailey was so understanding and compassionate when she heard Michelle’s story, and whatever she told her worked. Next thing they knew, Hailey and Jay were doing surveillance on the Sullivan’s home, cooped up in a building across the street together. Jay saw it as his window of opportunity to ask her about this case. He could see that she related to this, in a way that made him uncomfortable, angry even. He looked at her, her eyes telling him all that he needed to know. Before he had the chance to muster up the courage and say it out loud, they heard the sound of breaking glass and screaming on Michelle’s wire. Jay’s first instinct was to blow their cover and run to help. </p><p>“Jay, no”, Hailey told him definitively, gently put a hand on his forearm.</p><p>He was fuming, he couldn’t just sit here and listen to this, it was clearly escalating. He didn’t want Michelle to get hurt- or worse.</p><p>“Trust me, we have to let this play out. We have to keep Michelle under if we’re going to nail Shane for this”, she reasoned.</p><p>“I know, but it sounds like he’s really hurting her Hailey”, Jay replied.</p><p>“I know, I get it”, Hailey stressed. Jay eyed her as she said that, recognizing her honesty with him in this moment. “But they were just yelling, arguing. Which is hard to listen to, and even harder to know when to intervene. Jay, we’re cops- we also have to be thinking about the family of the victims here”, Hailey ended with that, turning away from him, signalling the end of discussion.</p><p>He nodded, hunched over, feeling defeated. He trusted Hailey, and as much as he wished she had no clue about this world Michelle was in, he knew she did. So he listened, for now.</p><p>XX</p><p>Jay’s heart got the best of him later that day, unable to control himself after hearing more violence on Michelle’s wire as they were parked outside of their house. Hailey told him not to blow their cover, but when he heard Michelle’s screams, and what sounded like her husband’s fists connecting with her body, that was the last straw.</p><p>Hailey reluctantly followed him, knowing the mess this was going to cause. They would have to answer to Voight on this for sure.</p><p>Jay cuffed Shane, arrested him on a domestic assault charge and paraded him out of his house. Michelle’s eyes pleaded with Hailey, the fear filling them caused the hair on the back of Hailey’s arms to rise up. </p><p>“Come on, let’s get you down to the station”, Hailey said void of all emotion. She knew the look on Michelle’s face all too well. The woman was hurt and scared, but she was nowhere near giving up on her husband just yet. This was a wasted arrest, and Jay just didn’t understand.</p><p>XX</p><p>Sure enough, later that day, Shane was released from police custody. Michelle wasn’t pressing charges. Meaning Shane would be going home, now knowing that Michelle has been working with the police. That puts her in a bad position, Hailey scared for what was to come tonight.</p><p>She heard him slamming his fist into his locker before he saw her. The guilt he felt looming over him was strong. He took a few deep breaths before composing himself, turning around to find his partner standing there.</p><p>“Hey”, he said out of breath, and a little ashamed. What was going to happen to Michelle now?</p><p>“Hailey we had to go in. You saw her, he hurt her”, Jay stated, but was secretly begging her to tell him he did the right thing.</p><p>She could feel his eyes searching hers, looking for an answer. She knew his heart was in the right place, but she didn’t have the guts to tell him that Michelle is in grave danger at home now. So instead, she softened, realizing that he needed her reassurance more than he was afraid of Voight reprimanding him for this whole thing going south.</p><p>“You’re right, we didn’t have a choice”, she smiled at him, nodding his way.<br/>“Thank you”, he whispered, staring right through her soul. He left to go to Voight’s office, ready for whatever consequences he was about to face.</p><p>XX</p><p>Surprisingly, Voight didn’t blow up at him as much as he was anticipating. This situation, although precarious, did call for using best judgment. Trying to balance and navigate the murky waters of domestic violence, and putting away a dangerous criminal. </p><p>Voight dismissed Halstead from his office, shaking his head at his detective. Jay always had the best intentions behind his actions, his default being protection of others first and foremost. But sometimes that put him in tricky situations.</p><p>Later that night, Hailey and Jay were patrolling the area, continuing to listen in on Michelle and Shane’s house through the bug they planted. They were about a block away when the line went deathly quiet, and not in a good way. </p><p>Uh oh, Hailey thought, only needing to glance slightly in Jay’s direction for him to figure out what she was thinking. He flipped his truck lights on and raced around the block. They found the front door slightly ajar. Jay looking back at Hailey, seeing her face harden, and go a shade paler than a few minutes before. That was all the confirmation he needed that this was probably bad. They drew their weapons, Jay entering the house quietly. They cleared the living room area, and stopped in their tracks when they heard quiet crying from behind a cabinet in the dining room. Michelle cowered as she saw the two detectives, no doubt thinking they were someone else. Her face was beat up and bruised, blood running from her lip. </p><p>Hailey immediately crouched down to get on her level, trying to assure the woman that she was safe now. If she was being honest, she thought she would look much worse, and was relieved to find her alive still.</p><p>Jay looked around the main floor, trying to make sure they were all safe.</p><p>“Is he here still?” Jay whispered to Michelle. She looked up at him and nodded quietly. </p><p>“It’s okay, we aren’t going to let him hurt you anymore”, Hailey replied gently. Just as she was getting Michelle up off the floor, they heard Shane come down the stairs. Jay immediately put himself in between the two women and Shane. </p><p>“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Shane yelled. </p><p>“You’re under arrest”, was all that Jay could get out before Shane took a run at him, charging to try and get to his wife, uttering threats about killing her under his breath.</p><p>Hailey almost laughed, and if it wasn’t for the serious situation they were in she might have. Shane had no idea what he was getting himself into trying to pick a fight with Jay. But he was about to, and the thought of that secretly enticed her.</p><p>Shane didn’t last long and only got a few swings in before Jay completely overpowered him.</p><p>“Not so fun Shane? What’s the matter, you don’t like being punched? It must make you feel really good about yourself when you do this to women huh” Jay was throwing fuel on the fire and he knew it, he was trying to rile him up and he didn’t care. This guy deserved the beating he was getting right now. </p><p>The switch flipped in his brain and Jay let him have it, punching him repeatedly until Shane’s face was bloody and Jay’s knuckles were raw. He looked up and saw Hailey’s face, just watching him. She had this strange look in her eye, part fear, part pleasure, but overwhelmingly calm. He wasn’t sure which version of her reaction to this scared him more. But whatever it was, it made him let up. Shane had enough, that much was obvious.</p><p>Hailey shook herself out of the trance she was in and ushered Michelle out the front door, leaving Jay to stare at Shane for a minute before taking a breathe and joining them outside. </p><p>Jay was talking to patrol and to Voight about what happened while Hailey made sure Michelle got checked out in an ambulance. He suspected she was also setting her up for an escape out of Chicago for a while so he didn’t go over and interfere.</p><p>At some point in the night, he lost track of his partner. When he looked up to where he saw her last, she was gone. </p><p>“Hey did you see where Hailey went?” He asked Kevin.</p><p>“Last I saw she was putting Michelle into a car with a social worker. She must have gone home with Rojas”, he replied. Jay nodded, trying to play it cool. On the inside however, he was scared that Hailey was angry with him for how he handled himself tonight. He definitely skirted with the line in terms of using excessive force, his sore knuckles reminding himself of that.</p><p>“Thanks man, I’m gonna head out too”, he told Kevin and said good-bye to Voight as well.</p><p>“See you two in the morning”, Kevin innocently replied. Jay looked at him for half a second, searching for a sneaky grin or jab in there about Hailey but it didn’t come. Kevin just genuinely said it as if it was normal, like they were a package deal and it was natural that they were coming and going together now. Jay shook his head and laughed on the way back to his truck, Kevin obviously didn’t realize what he said either.<br/>XX</p><p>He wrestled with what to do next. He had gone back to the district to fill out some paperwork on this at the request, rather demand, of Voight. Even how late it was, he made it clear that Jay needed to get his story straight about why Shane Sullivan needed 8 stitches and for his broken nose to be set at Med. He also made it clear that he wasn’t mad at Jay for doing it, Shane deserved that and more. However, it was in his own best interest and that of Intelligence if he filed his report sooner rather than later, with Hailey corroborating his report. Voight had no doubts that she would, only the two of them and Michelle knew what actually happened in there anyways.</p><p>It was after midnight by the time he was finished, but Jay was hopped up on adrenaline still. He thought about going straight home, but then he also felt the urge to stop by Hailey’s first. The latter thought won out and before he knew it he was standing on her doorstep quietly knocking. </p><p>When she didn’t come to the door right away he got nervous. Maybe she was in bed. Or didn’t want to do their thing right now. He didn’t call or text her like he normally did if he was coming over. He hesitated, but before turning around to leave, he heard the click of the lock turning. </p><p>“What took you so long?” Hailey asked him, a small smirk on her face as she opened the door, gesturing for him to come in. She could tell he was nervous, and she wasn’t sure why.</p><p>Jay let out a sigh and followed her into her kitchen. </p><p>He saw that she already had two glasses of whiskey poured, sitting there on the island for them. He laughed at how stupid he was, for thinking that she was upset with him. It was clear that she had been waiting up for him.</p><p>“Is something wrong?” She looked at him, unsure why he was behaving so strangely.</p><p>He paused, chewing the side of his lip. “I saw the way you looked at me while I was hitting Shane tonight. I’m sorry, I hope that didn’t stir up anything…I sort of crossed the line…”, Jay rambled before Hailey held out her stand to stop him. </p><p>“Jay, I’m not mad at you. You did what you had to do. Shane got what he deserved. I’m okay, I promise”, she reassured him.</p><p>Jay sat down on a barstool, letting his body weight sink in. He was wiped today. </p><p>“I poured you a double”, Hailey said gesturing to the drink in front of him.</p><p>“Thanks”, he took a deep breath in and let it out, relieved that Hailey was okay, and thankful that she knew what he needed right now.<br/>She was rummaging around in her freezer before joining him. He was absentmindedly fiddling with his glass when he felt her sneak up beside him.</p><p>He looked up at her, she was standing so close to him. He was confused for a second until he saw the bag of ice in her hand. He half-smiled, should have seen this coming, he thought.</p><p>“Let me see your hand Jay”, Hailey asked him softly.</p><p>His hand was fine, a bit swollen and sore, but otherwise alright. He wasn’t going to give up a chance for Hailey to play nurse though. Normally, he hated any sort of fussing. He hated when Will did it, and when anyone questioned whether or not he was okay. He was used to doing things on his own, but had a soft spot for when Hailey was taking care of him. He felt safe with her and comfortable enough to let his tough guy invisible guard down. </p><p>“Keep that there, it will bring the swelling down”, she instructed.</p><p>“Yes Hails”, he replied, in a slight mocking way, but he grinned afterwards and she knew he was poking fun, rolling her eyes at his response.</p><p>“I know that’s sore and you’re just not saying anything”, she said raising her eyebrows at him, challenging him to convince her otherwise.</p><p>“A little sore, but I’m okay”, Jay admitted, flexing his fingers, trying to find a comfortable place for the ice to rest. </p><p>They were quiet for a minute, sipping their drinks, mentally unpacking their own thoughts before turning to the other. </p><p>“Michelle?” Jay finally asked.</p><p>“She’s on a plane to Phoenix as we speak, going to stay with her sister for a while”, Hailey replied.</p><p>Jay looked relieved, that a good thing did come out of this. “That’s good to hear.” </p><p>“I don’t know how you went through that growing up”, Jay blurted out. They had never really outwardly talked about this, but Jay knew enough about Hailey, and her family and her past to piece together a few things. Whenever they had cases like this, she always seemed a little more affected by them than others. </p><p>Hailey took a deep breath in, Jay could see the wheels turning in her head. She had been keeping him at arms length with this for a while now, and he understood. But he finally worked up the courage to ask her about it. <br/>She responded how he expected, honestly, but with a veil of secrecy about the whole thing. She explained that her childhood wasn’t all bad, although there were many bumps in the road. </p><p>“I wished someone would put him in his place”, she said referring to her dad. She looked up at him, making sure he was staring back at her as she said the next thing.</p><p>“Like what you did today. You did a good thing Jay”, she told him. Jay wasn’t sure how to feel about that. He wished he could have been there for Hailey all those years ago, protecting her, shielding her from all of it. </p><p>“So what happened to your mom?” Jay asked curiously after they shared a look, not really knowing much about her parents.</p><p>“Nothing, she’s still with my dad”, Hailey said casually, sipping her drink. That surprised Jay. But her parents grew up in a different generation, same as his, where divorce wasn’t really a thing. Hell if it was, his parents would have been split up by the time he and Will were in high school if he had to guess.</p><p>“You did a good thing today Jay. I know today was tough, but you did. It was a good thing”, she repeated to make sure he understood.</p><p>He looked down at his glass, swirling it on the counter, unable to get anything out but a nod in her direction.</p><p>“Come on let’s go watch a movie”, she broke their silence.</p><p>“It’s late Hailey”, Jay said looking at the time, pushing one in the morning.</p><p>“We don’t have to be in until 10 tomorrow”, she reminded him.</p><p>“Right”, Jay smiled, making a move to get up from the barstool. Hailey took the ice from him, putting it back on her freezer and joined him on the couch. </p><p>They got into a show and made it through the first episode before both of them started dozing off on the couch. Hailey was the first to succumb to the exhaustion. Her feet were resting against his thighs, her hand tucked up under her cheek, he almost didn’t want to move her. </p><p>Eventually he decided that she would get a better sleep in her own bed and not on the couch so he quietly scooped her up and carried her up the stairs to her room.</p><p>He walked past Rojas’ room, unaware that she was half awake still. She knew they were having a talk downstairs and she didn’t want to disturb them. Jay and Hailey had been good to her, and good with letting her into their very private personal lives. But today seemed different, and she knew not to intrude. So as she lay there on her phone scrolling through social media, she heard the familiar creak of the stairs and pretended to be asleep. She was confused when she only heard one set of footsteps, assuming Jay had left. But as she poked her head out from under the blankets, she had to stifle a laugh when she saw him carrying her very fast asleep roommate down the hall.</p><p>I should have known better, Vanessa chuckled to herself. Silly her, thinking otherwise. She waited for a few minutes, but Jay never left.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The most unmarried, married people</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 17</p><p>Rojas jolted awake with her phone still in her hand, suddenly aware that she fell asleep watching dog videos on Youtube. The drool on her pillow gave that away, she laughed at herself before looking around trying to figure out what time it was. Her phone said 5 am but she was confused by the hallway light still on. She decided to get up and investigate.</p><p>She quietly walked towards Hailey’s bedroom, fully expecting to find Jay in there too. The door was wide open, which was unusual, but made sense because Jay didn’t have any spare hands as he carried her to bed.</p><p>She smirked when she saw them passed out beside each other. Hailey was on her back, sleeping soundly, Jay starfishing across her bed on his stomach. His hand was dangerously close to Hailey’s, Rojas snuck in and threw a blanket over top of him before quietly leaving again.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey started to wake up, slowly becoming more aware of her surroundings. At first she wasn’t sure why her bed felt so hot, was she sick? No, she thought as she checked in with her body. Then she realized, it was the furnace sleeping beside her, actually more like on top of her, and she laughed.</p><p>He always ran a bit hot in his sleep, most guys did. It didn’t help that he was still in his clothes from the day before. She knew that if it was up to him he’d slept completely naked, he’s insinuated that a few times. She held in a laugh, looking at him sprawled out across her bed as if it was his own. </p><p>She could hear his voice in her head telling her that “Pants were too restricting.” No one they worked with would ever believe her if she told them that, the Jay Halstead they knew was regimented, always put together. But the version she was most familiar with was this one. After he got shot and she spent more nights at his place than her own, she had become accustom to his sleeping habits. He couldn’t fall asleep without brushing his teeth, and he liked to have some part of him touching her. He admitted he was not that into snuggling, not that surprising, he wasn’t an overly touchy person. However, he did like some contact, to keep him grounded she suspected, and more often than not ended up close to her in some way shape or form during the night.</p><p>Just as she was waking up to figure out what time it was, she saw Rojas standing in her doorway, eyes wider than ever. She gave Hailey a devilish grin, the older of the two raising an eyebrow at that, daring Vanessa to say something.</p><p>Vanessa tip-toed in Hailey’s bedroom, careful not to wake Jay, who looked as content as she’d ever seen him. He didn’t strike her as someone who usually slept that well. She mouthed, “It’s 6:30” to Hailey, who nodded. Hailey flashed 10 fingers back at her, reminding the young officer they didn’t have to go in until later that morning. Rojas nodded face palming, forgetting that she could have slept longer this morning. </p><p>Hailey turned her head ever so slightly to not wake Jay, watching him sleeping soundly on his stomach, his right arm tucked under the pillow, his face turned towards hers. He looked so comfortable, she didn’t want to move him. His left arm was like a weighted blanket laying over her stomach. His hand was brushed up under her rib cage, his fingers gently rising as she inhaled. She was trying not to breathe too heavily because that would surely wake him, but her heart couldn’t help but race at the position they were in. His hands were dangerously close to…well…</p><p>“Hailey we’re out of milk”, he randomly mumbled.</p><p>She put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Rojas bit her lip to contain her own giggles. Jay never talked in his sleep, this was out of character even for him. He told her that she did it all the time but she didn’t believe him. He must be in a deep sleep. It was a good thing, definitely better than the alternative she was so used to seeing. He had been sleeping better lately she noticed.</p><p>“I’ll go to the store tomorrow m’kay?” He added.</p><p>“Sounds good dear”, Hailey replied back jokingly, much to Vanessa’s delight.</p><p>“Okay, see you tomorrow”, Jay said before drifting back into a deep sleep. Not before wiggling closer to her though. </p><p>She allowed it, setting her hand on his back, as he was practically lying on top of her now. She would make fun of him for this later, as would Rojas she was sure. She caught her roommate taking a photo for blackmail likely and scowled at her as Vanessa ran off, seemingly pleased with witnessing that. She checked her phone making sure she had an alarm set for 8:30 and then drifted back to sleep.</p><p>XX</p><p>7:00 am</p><p>Jay woke up to a sharp pain in his shoulder. He tried to move around to make it go away but ended up yelping involuntarily in the process.</p><p>“Are you okay?” He quickly heard Hailey ask through the brain fog he was experiencing, sounding like she just woke up, confusion in her voice. He had successfully hidden this from her for a while now, but had a feeling she was about to find out the whole truth.</p><p>His eyes were tightly squeezed together, his right hand pressed into his left shoulder, trying to numb the pain. He forgot that she didn’t know he had crashed in here last night.</p><p>“Fine-“, he grunted, obviously not sounding very believable because next thing he knew he felt Hailey’s hand slip under his shirt, trying to gently move his fingers to figure out what was going on.</p><p>Her cold hands felt good on his skin, it momentarily distracted him enough so that he could roll onto his right side from his stomach, taking some of the pressure off of his arm.</p><p>“Slept wrong”, Jay muttered out a half sentence again, his eyes still closed. He feared if he opened them the nausea might overtake him. He was already feeling like he might pass out the pain was so sharp and so severe. </p><p>“Okay, it’s alright, just breathe. What can I do?” She asked, keeping her hand on his back just beneath his shoulder.</p><p>He shook his head, not able to get any words out. </p><p>“Hey, open your eyes, look at me”, she asked, her voice so gentle it almost made him consider it.</p><p>“Jay…”, she tried again, noticing how forcefully he was keeping them shut, his forehead showing all of the tension in his pale face.</p><p>He felt her hand come up to his cheek, her thumb brushing against his face like she had done for him in the hospital. He let out a deep breath he forgot he was holding, regaining some control over the anxiety and panic building in his body. </p><p>She felt some of his facial muscles release, and watched him take a few slow breaths. </p><p>“Alright, that’s good. Are you going to be sick?” She asked, growing more and more concerned that the familiar look on his face was going to shift into another.</p><p>“Maybe”, he quietly said. </p><p>She was so confused. She didn’t think his shoulder was still bothering him this much, maybe he hurt it again and didn’t tell her? But when…she thought. Nothing unusual had happened at work the last few weeks, not that she had noticed anyways. The fact that this was lingering since he got shot and he didn’t tell her made her feel a bit annoyed. But knowing Jay she understood, he always did whatever he could to hide his pain, both physical and emotional. Getting back to work was really important to him after being injured, but lying about it was only going to make a nagging injury worse.</p><p>She got out of her bed to rush downstairs to grab him a heating pack and some Advil. She ran into Rojas in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal at the island.</p><p>“Thought you were going back to bed for a while?” Hailey asked.</p><p>Vanessa shrugged, “Was already up. Couldn’t get back to sleep.”</p><p>Hailey nodded, understanding. “What are you doing up?” Rojas responded.</p><p>“Jay woke me up, his shoulder is bothering him he yelped so loud it scared the crap out of me”, Hailey shook her head.</p><p>“Oh, that’s not good. Is he alright?” Rojas asked, becoming more and more aware that the version of Jay she saw when he was here and with Hailey was one that no one else in the unit was privy to. </p><p>“I don’t know, I’m actually a bit concerned. He told me he might throw up. Did I miss something? He hasn’t hurt himself this week has he?”, Hailey said confused by her own words, wracking her brain to see if anything came to mind. </p><p>“I don’t think so…although you would know more than me. He must have just slept on it wrong, he looked pretty sprawled out when I came in”, Vanessa smiled.</p><p>“Ya I guess so”, Hailey paused as she waited for the microwave with the heating pack to go off.</p><p>Hailey hurried back upstairs to see what was going on. She could hear him whimpering as she turned the corner, his face scrunched up in pain.</p><p>Jay was still curled up in the fetal position in her bed, wearing his clothes from the night before. She laughed to herself, they were sort of past the whole needing to remain fully clothed while platonically sleeping in the same bed together. But here they were. The almost empty bottle of bourbon on her kitchen counter also reminded her that they both probably passed out as they were last night. Jay must have carried her to bed she had no idea how she got there.</p><p>“Jay….hey”, she gently sat down on her side of the bed, since he was facing towards her. </p><p>“I’m going to put a heat pack on your shoulder okay”, she told him, not really waiting for a response, not that he was giving her much anyways.</p><p>He nodded his head slightly, inhaling as he felt the warmth spread across his left arm. He felt instantly relaxed, well enough anyways. Distracting him enough from the shooting pain. </p><p>Hailey remained quiet for a few minutes, watching him adjust, the heat helping his tense muscles. She could feel how hard his muscles had been spasming when she put her hand on his shoulder, before going downstairs. He was in excruciating pain she could tell that much, he usually did a pretty good job of hiding it. So for him to actually be acting like this, it must be bad.</p><p>She waited until he calmed down a bit more, keeping her hand where it was on his back, rubbing small gentle circles with her thumb and holding the heat against his shoulder.</p><p>“Jay, what’s going on?” She asked again. This time he opened his eyes and looked back at her. </p><p>“If I tell you, you’re going to be mad”, he said hesitantly.</p><p>She scoffed, “I’m not going to be mad. I’m just worried about you.”</p><p>“Remember how I told you my shoulder was 100 percent and I was pain free?” He said sheepishly.</p><p>She knew where this was going right away. “Uh huh. That’s not that case is it.”</p><p>“Not exactly”, he winced as he sat up in bed. </p><p>She gestured behind him as she carefully leaned him forward and put a pillow behind him so he would be more comfortable. She was holding his left arm in her hand until she propped it up under a pillow, the contact of her gently brushing past him sent shivers down his spine.</p><p>He relaxed back and exhaled, “Thanks”, he sighed. His right hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“So you gonna tell me what’s going on or what?” She pried. </p><p>He looked at her, like he wanted to tell her but held back.</p><p>“I’m not going to be mad, I promise. I want to help. It’s obvious that you’re in pain”, she said sympathetically.</p><p>“I don’t have full range of motion back. Well, comfortably anyways. When I wake up in the morning it usually hurts a lot and it’s really stiff. But not this bad, it spasms hard sometimes. I guess because I slept on my stomach I don’t usually do that. When I brought you up here, I just kinda crashed. Sorry I didn’t mean to stay…”, he rambled.</p><p>Hailey shook her head and grinned. “It’s alright. Not the first time, probably won’t be the last either. You know you can always stay here.”</p><p>He had a little twinkle in his eye as she told him that, giving her permission to stay in bed with her. I am a lucky man, Jay thought.</p><p>“Have you told anyone about this?” She prodded.</p><p>He shook his head, “Well, Choi knows. I swore him to secrecy. He said that’s normal after an injury like mine, the nerves and muscles and everything that tore is still healing. Might take a while but I’ll be okay eventually, there won’t be any permanent damage. Just have to tough it out. I didn’t want to bother anyone, have anyone treat me like an invalid”, he looked down as he said it, blushing.</p><p>“Jay, no one is going to think less of you. We all saw what you went through. It’s a miracle you survived let alone had the injuries that you did.”</p><p>“You won’t tell anyone? I’m going to physio on the weekends and trying my best to rehab. It just hurts sometimes”, he confessed.</p><p>“No I’m not going to tell anyone, don’t worry. And I won’t as long as it’s not putting you or anyone else at risk. Whatever you need, okay?” She replied.</p><p>He nodded. “Thanks for this”, he motioned towards his shoulder, she was still supporting his forearm, trying to take some of the pressure off.</p><p>“Of course”, Hailey gave him a half smile, an unspoken you’re my partner, at the end of that.</p><p>They agreed to stay up, no point in going back to sleep now.</p><p>“You want something to eat?” Hailey asked as they watched the morning news and sports highlights.</p><p>“Coffee please”, Jay said.</p><p>“A given. I’m going to make myself some avocado toast, you want some?” </p><p>“That sounds good, I’ll be down in a few I’m just gonna shower”, Jay started to move, stiffly Hailey noticed.</p><p>“You don’t have to move, just relax we have time. I’ll bring it up”, she motioned for him to stay in bed, he reluctantly smiled and agreed.</p><p>Hailey appeared again fifteen minutes later.</p><p>“Breakfast in bed? Hailey Anne”, Jay smirked devilishly. The colour was back in his face, as was his cheeky grin.</p><p>She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get to used to it. I do this for all the nice strangers who show up in my bed overnight unannounced.”</p><p>Jay pretended to be hurt then laughed at that and ate his breakfast with her as they watched TV in bed.<br/>Before they knew it, it was time to head into work. Jay had stood under Hailey’s hot shower for a while and that seemed to loosen up the rest of his tight muscles. </p><p>“Jay we’re going to be late”, she yelled through the door.</p><p>He responded by shutting off the water and quickly drying off with the towel she left in there for him. He emerged from her bathroom wearing just the towel, his eyes searching her bedroom for his belongings. </p><p>Shit, he muttered. Realizing he had left his overnight bag in his truck. </p><p>“Hailey?” He yelled peaking his head out of her bedroom door and down the hall. But nowhere to be found.</p><p>“You need something Jay?” Rojas suddenly appeared. Even she couldn’t resist a little up and down of the chiselled detective, who seemed to notice that and raised an eyebrow in return.</p><p>“I left my bag in my truck, do you mind running to get it”, he asked dangling his keys at her. </p><p>“Ya, no worries”, Vanessa smiled, leaving for a few minutes and appearing with his bag. </p><p>By that point Hailey had made her way back upstairs, surprised to see her partner still sitting in her room with just a towel. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the scar on his left shoulder, she shuddered.</p><p>“Here, Vanessa ran out to grab this for you.” She handed him his bag.</p><p>“Thanks”, he disappeared into the bathroom to change, coming out in just his jeans a few minutes later.</p><p>“We are seriously going to be late, and I know you really wanted your bag for your hair gel not clean clothes”, Hailey poked fun.</p><p>“Ha, ha very funny Hails.” Jay rolled his eyes as he finished getting ready in her mirror. </p><p>“Okay, okay I’m ready let’s go.” Jay made a point of putting his shirt on last, then following her down to the kitchen to grab a coffee and go. </p><p>As they were getting ready to leave all three of their phones pinged with news from Voight. Jay groaned as they each read what he expected them to do before coming in.</p><p>“Gang shooting. I’ll meet you guys at work.” Jay rushed to put his coat and boots on.</p><p>“Vanessa and I have to go do a follow up with one of the witnesses”, Hailey replied ushering him out the door, handing him a coffee and a breakfast bar to go. </p><p>He stuck the oatmeal bar in his mouth as he scooped up his phone and badge. </p><p>Hailey opened the front door for him, and he rushed out, making it halfway down the steps before turning back and mumbling something not coherent enough for Vanessa to make out.</p><p>“I’ll grab your bag and bring it with me”, Hailey replied, and Jay nodded in a return with a smile knowing that she understood his gibberish, while trying to scarf down his breakfast.</p><p>“You guys are the most unmarried, married people I have ever seen in my life”, Rojas stated in amazement as soon as Jay was far enough out of ear shot.</p><p>Hailey rolled her eyes at that one, but didn’t deny it. “Ya, ya I know. Let’s go.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. A big favour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 18</p><p>Hailey and Rojas rolled into the 21st later that morning with video footage from the shooting in the park. All signs pointed to Lamar Garrison being the prime suspect, Adam cursing at the whiteboard as he interviewed him the night before. The team set up a buy between Garrison and an old CI of Voight's.</p><p>Hailey dropped Kevin and Adam off in a van to do some surveillance, turning to them before she left. "Stay warm kittens", she smiled.</p><p>The two of them didn't know how to respond to that. "Did she just call us kittens?" Adam asked with a laugh.</p><p>"I think so. She's been in a particularly chipper mood lately. Wonder if Halstead has anything to do with it", Kevin replied coyly.</p><p>"Ohhh", Adam asked with his eyebrow raised. "What do you know?!"</p><p>"Let's just say having Rojas as my partner comes with certain insider information. But I have been sworn to secrecy", Kevin replied, not wanting to blow it with his partner either.</p><p>"Hmm, copy you. Man, those two are the most private and interesting people I've ever met. I even dated Hailey but I want to know more about the real them", Ruzek replied.</p><p>"Don't we all", Kevin chuckled as they turned their focus back to surveillance.</p><p>The day flew by trying to solve the case, which ended up being more complicated than anyone could have imagined in terms of the usual gang shooting motives. Lamar Garrison was trying to become the new leader of the Rollin Haters, which came at a price.</p><p>Before the day was done, Jay found himself tackling a suspect on a roof and winding up in the middle of a drive by shooting with Hailey.</p><p>"So the jokers run the West side of the park, the Rollin Haters run the other. Bunch of teenagers hopped up on testosterone selling drugs right next to each other", Hailey said as her and Jay were canvassing the neighbourhood.</p><p>"What could possibly go wrong?" Jay replied. Almost as soon as he said it, things did go wrong. Pop, pop, pop!</p><p>On instinct, Jay immediately stepped in front of Hailey to shield her, and to give her time to pull out her gun. They both started shooting at the car speeding towards them, causing it to crash.</p><p>"Police! Hands up now!" Jay yelled. Hailey had gone around to the passenger side. "Get out of the car!" Hailey shouted.</p><p>"You got me?" Jay asked without making eye contact with her, hearing her say yes.</p><p>"If you even blink we will shoot you", Jay threatened as he yanked the teenagers out of the car and onto the pavement.</p><p>"5021 Henry, shots fired, got 2 offenders in custody…", Hailey reported into her radio, until she heard a woman screaming from the block over.</p><p>"You go this?" She motioned to Jay, knowing he would understand her need to go check it out.</p><p>"Ya, I'm good", he looked at her cautiously, he hated when she went places without him, and without backup.</p><p>Later that day, after watching Voight punch out a Detective from homicide, and wrapping up the case, the team decided to meet at Molly's for a few drinks. Everyone went, it was nice to unwind and catch up with each other as well as members from Firehouse 51. Jay and Hailey were both there, Hailey kept her distance as Jay chatted with Kelly and Matt from 51. She spent time at the bar with Kim, Rojas and Stella.</p><p>When it was time to leave, Jay made his way over, lightly squeezing Hailey's shoulder.</p><p>"I'm leaving do you need a ride?" He asked looking at Hailey, shooting a glance at Rojas too, who was smirking back at him. "I mean you two hooligans", Jay recovered after watching Vanessa eye him up.</p><p>"Nah we're good, we just ordered another. Thanks though. Gym tomorrow morning?" Hailey asked, Voight had given them the next day off which meant a nice long weekend.</p><p>"Can't, I have to be in court all day", Jay rolled his eyes, not exactly the day off he was hoping for.</p><p>"Yuck", Hailey replied. "Well, I'll see you at some point then", she smiled, suddenly feeling the eyes of Kim and Stella too.</p><p>"Sounds good, good night ladies", Jay said his good-byes to the group and squeezed her shoulder again.</p><p>"Girl. I am no detective, but what am I missing here? How have you kept your hands off of each other this long?!" Stella squealed as soon as Jay left the bar.</p><p>Hailey laughed and rolled her eyes, feeling a slight blush come to the surface.</p><p>"You guys see it too right", she motioned to Kim and Vanessa but they shrugged and stayed quiet, loving the fact that Stella Kidd just called out the infamously tight-lipped Hailey Upton.</p><p>"He's my partner", she justified, tipping the beer bottle back to avoid further conversation.</p><p>"Just your partner? Even after the hockey game when he got hurt? He stripped down in the dressing room and it didn't even phase you", Stella poked. Kim and Vanessa looked at Hailey surprised, they were unaware of the 'seeing Jay naked' details of the story.</p><p>"He was concussed, and needed help in the shower. He didn't know what he was doing. You saw him", Hailey sassed back jokingly.</p><p>"Mhmm, whatever you say Upton. You two… Stella motioned to Hailey and the location Jay had gently squeezed her shoulder twice… I needit to happen."</p><p>That had Kim and Vanessa breaking their neutral faces and letting out a laugh. If anyone could shoot Hailey straight about workplace romances it was Stella Kidd.</p><p>"Who says it hasn't", Hailey replied coyly. Knowing it hadn't, nowhere close. But she knew this would really get them going and keep them wondering.</p><p>That instantly shut her coworkers up, now they were staring at her with deer in the headlights looks. Stella gave her a look of approval, as Hailey put down money for her and Vanessa's tab.</p><p>"Okay Upton, I see you", Stella winked.</p><p>"Let's go V, I'm tired", Hailey laughed as Kim practically had to pick her jaw up off the floor.</p><p>Rojas snapped out of it, mouth still wide open at Kim and Stella. She was sure nothing had happened between the two of them, but she had to give Hailey credit for owning the looming suspicion a little more lately.</p><p>"So you and Jay…I didn't think anything…has it?" Rojas treaded carefully as they pulled away in Hailey's car.</p><p>Hailey laughed and shook her head, "No, that's just a story I tell in bars."</p><p>Hailey woke up out of a deep sleep the next morning to her phone ringing off the hook. Please don't be a case on our day off, please, she silently prayed.</p><p>She was relieved when she saw it was just Jay calling her.</p><p>"Hello?" She answered groggily, it was only 8 am why was he calling her so early.</p><p>"Hails, sorry I know I woke you up. I have a biiiig favour to ask and I'm about to head into court", Jay started.</p><p>"Mhmm, what did you forget now", Hailed chuckled.</p><p>"Well, I have to be here all day, and I kinda sorta maybe forgot that I told Will I would pick him up at the hospital at noon."</p><p>"Something wrong with Will?" Hailey asked worriedly.</p><p>"No, no all good. He's getting lasik eye surgery later this morning. Can't drive afterwards obviously. Do you mind picking him up? Maybe just sitting with him this afternoon. I'm sure he'll be fine, he'll sleep it off."</p><p>"Ya of course, that's no problem", Hailey agreed.</p><p>"Thanks Hails, you're the best. I'll bring home whatever you want for dinner later", Jay couldn't catch himself before the words spilled out. Home, as if they shared one together.</p><p>Hailey caught it, but didn't say anything. She paused for a second to smile and could almost feel Jay's nervousness through the phone.</p><p>"Tacos. Looking forward to spending time with my favourite Halstead today", Hailey intentionally left the interpretation open.</p><p>Did she mean Will? Or dinner with him?Jay wondered as he laughed, using their witty banter as a way to play off the flirting.</p><p>"That better be me. Okay thanks Hailey, see you tonight", Jay hung up and shook his head, walking into the court room, wishing the day was over already.</p><p>Hailey pulled up to Med, found a parking spot and went inside to wait for Will. Jay must have texted her ten times various details as if she didn't know that Will needed to wear sunglasses, make sure to pick up his eye drop prescriptions, no screen time, his house keys are with him. She laughed at his protectiveness. Yes, she knew Will's address, yes she was fine with staying with him to make sure he was okay this afternoon, she reassured Jay. It's almost as if he had forgotten about the time she looked after him after surgery, for you know a gunshot wound, when he should have still been admitted overnight in the hospital. She could handle a routine, minor eye procedure. He was just being a mother hen.</p><p>She sat in the waiting area, Will was done pretty quickly. It was a quick procedure, faster than she realized. He was in and out in about twenty minutes. He walked out with big dark glasses over his eyes, looking a little out of it.</p><p>Ativan, the nurse whispered to Hailey who smiled and nodded in understanding.</p><p>"I was feeling a little bit nervous about being awake during this Hailey, and they gave me something to relaaax", Will said goofily. That made the nurse and Hailey laugh.</p><p>"We actually had to give him more than usual, a little nervous might be an understatement Dr. Halstead", the nurse informed her.</p><p>"Ahhh, I see. How did it go Will, you okay?" She asked.</p><p>"I'm okay. They put weird suctions on my eyeballs to keep them open and I could see the layers of my eyeball being peeled back when they were correcting my vision. It was kinda cool actually", Will told her, his inner doctor poking through.</p><p>"That does sound interesting. You're pretty brave for doing that, I'm not sure I could", she replied. "Are your eyes open under there?"</p><p>"No, they're closed. They're kinda sore now that the numbing drops are wearing off. When I open them it feels like I'm opening my eyes underwater", he replied.</p><p>"Gotcha. Well, I'm going to take you home and hangout with you today. That sound okay?"</p><p>"Jay put you up to this?" Will laughed.</p><p>"He has been mother henning me all morning. He got called into court. But he'll be by with dinner for us later."</p><p>"He must have forgot all about the time you took care of him after he had surgery, this pales in comparison", Will scoffed.</p><p>Hailey laughed, "Right? That's exactly what I thought too."</p><p>"Your husband?" The nurse innocently replied, there was a note that Hailey would be picking Will up and not his brother as originally planned.</p><p>Will burst out laughing, he could barely make Hailey out in his vision fog, but he knew she would be blushing at that.</p><p>"Um no, Jay, Will's brother, is my partner. At work", Hailey stammered out.</p><p>The nurse sensing her apprehension back pedaled immediately. "I apologize, I just saw a note here saying Jay Halstead's partner will be picking Will up after the procedure. I misunderstood."</p><p>"Oh that's alright, the term partner can be a confusing one", Hailey laughed it off.</p><p>"Nurse Jane you have no idea how confusing the term partner is for those two. There is definitely some room for interpretation", Will stressed, taking the liberty to add that in. Hailey rolled her eyes and laughed at him.</p><p>"Right, Will. You may be loopy, but not that loopy. Let's get you home." Hailey shook her head and extended an arm out for him to grab onto to guide him back to her car out front.</p><p>"Thanks for being my seeing eye dog Hails, it's bright out here", Will said even while wearing big dark glasses.</p><p>"William Patrick you are a piece of work", Hailey laughed at his antics today.</p><p>"Oh the middle name, I must be in trouble. But also, Hailey Anne, don't give me that. My vision might be temporarily impaired but I am definitely not blind. Partner at work, partner in crime, life partner, I don't know sue me. I can't keep up with you two", Will grinned, testing the waters.</p><p>"Life partner, hmm that's a new one. I'll be sure to let your brother know", Hailey joked, helping him into her vehicle.</p><p>"Hailey I'm kinda hungry", Will said as he sat in her car with his eyes closed.</p><p>"Lucky for you I anticipated this, I figured you would be. So I went ahead and got us Italian beef and chocolate shakes from Portillos. To celebrate you being so brave", she joked.</p><p>Will's head turned on a swivel. "Ugh I love you. Hailey, have I ever told you that you're my favourite Detective?" He flashed her a boyish grin.</p><p>"Mhmm, that's what I thought Will. You better be nicer to me today."</p><p>"You're the best. If Jay won't tell you he loves you I will!" Will said happily as he sipped his shake and started on his sandwich. All she could do was laugh at that one.</p><p>The drive back to Will's condo was uneventful. Hailey kept checking in that he was okay, to which he kept telling her he was.</p><p>"I will never hear the end of it from Jay if you aren't, so just humour me", Hailey laughed.</p><p>"I know. He's a secret worrier", Will confirmed.</p><p>They made their way up the elevator, Hailey opening the door and helping him inside.</p><p>"Hi Kohl", she cooed at Will's dog. "Whose a good boy", she knelt down to pet him.</p><p>Kohl wagged his tail at Hailey, and jumped up as he was excited to see Will too.</p><p>"I'll go take him out for a little walk, you're okay for a few minutes?" She asked Will, who had plopped himself on the couch.</p><p>"Ya I'm good, thanks for doing that Hailey", Will replied.</p><p>Hailey took the dog around the block, letting him do his business before bringing him back in. "You are so well behaved buddy", she patted his head as they waited for the elevator.</p><p>She quietly opened the door to Will's condo, finding him slouched on the couch taking a quick nap.</p><p>"Hey", she said trying not to startle him.</p><p>He jolted out of his half asleep state. "Hey."</p><p>"Why don't you go lie down for a bit, rest your eyes", she said softly.</p><p>Will nodded, "I'm getting a bit of a headache."</p><p>"Migraine headache?" Hailey asked cautiously, that was the last thing she wanted for him today.</p><p>"No, I don't think so. I think everything is just wearing off, it's more in my sinuses, they feel dry. Might take some migraine stuff just in case though."</p><p>"Ya that might be a good idea, hopefully it doesn't turn into one. Here let me help you", Hailey said as she gave him a hand off the couch and started walking with him into his room.</p><p>Will went into his bathroom to take something for his headache, and got himself into bed while Hailey went to grab him a glass of water.</p><p>She came back to find Will sitting up in bed smirking to himself.</p><p>"What now", she chuckled.</p><p>"I might need some assistance with this", Will motioned to the various eye drops and goggle contraption sitting out in front of him.</p><p>Hailey laughed, putting eye drops in for Will wasn't exactly what she envisioned herself doing on her day off. "Your brother owes me for this one."</p><p>"Yes he does", Will laughed. Hailey sat down next to him in bed and read through his post-op instructions.</p><p>"Okay, these steroid drops need to go in every few hours and so do the antibiotic ones. I hate eyeballs Will, you're lucky I'm doing this for you", Hailey mentally prepared herself.</p><p>"It's not that bad. After wearing contacts for so many years, I can touch my eyes no problem. I just can't really see that well right now. I trust you", Will replied with a wink.</p><p>"That makes one of us", Hailey laughed, feeling a little nervous.</p><p>It took a few tries but she managed to get all the drops in Will's eye and helped him cover them with shields so he wouldn't rub them in his sleep. They couldn't stop laughing at how they were taped across his face.</p><p>"I'm not sure if this is right", Hailey giggled. "But I mean you look really cool so."</p><p>Will laughed, knowing how ridiculous he looked. "Good thing it's just you and not a lady friend I have to impress."</p><p>Hailey playfully slapped his arm, "Ya Will, what's that about. Any lady friends on the horizon for you these days?"</p><p>Will looked at her with a smirk. "Can't get anything past you Detective. There is someone but we're taking it slow. And Jay doesn't know- so you're sworn to secrecy."</p><p>Hailey mimicked zipping her lips and throwing away the key. "Secrets safe. Contrary to popular belief I don't tell your brother everything."</p><p>Will laughed at that. "I'm sure you don't." Hailey smiled bashfully, if Will only knew what she had been holding back from Jay. Although she had a sneaking suspicion he already did.</p><p>"Well, now you can get some rest. Think you'll be able to sleep for a while?" She asked.</p><p>"Probably, I'm coming off nights this week so sleeping during the day is no problem for me", Will reminded her, followed by a yawn.</p><p>"Right. Well I'll be here, just shout if you need anything okay?" Hailey told him.</p><p>"Thanks Hailey. Help yourself to whatever out there", Will said as Hailey pulled the blankets over him, and quietly shut the door on her way out.</p><p>She spent the rest of the afternoon watching some of the Michael Jordan documentary on Netflix, making herself a fancy latte with Will's espresso machine, snuggling on the couch with Kohl and searching through his book collection. As she was browsing the shelves in his place, she came across a few old framed photos, some of his travels, medical school friends and of course, him and Jay. Will's condo had way more décor than Jay, including family photos. She had been here briefly once before but never really had the chance to look around. She paused when one picture in particular caught her eye. It was of Will, Jay and their mom. Jay was in his Army uniform, he looked so young, she ran her thumb over the corners of the frame, smiling at his fresh face, sprinkled with freckles.</p><p>"That was the real before it all went to hell moment", she suddenly heard Jay's voice behind her.</p><p>She nearly jumped out of her skin, and blushed as he caught her snooping.</p><p>"Sorry I didn't hear you come in", she gently put the frame back on its spot on Will's shelf.</p><p>"It's okay Hailey", he sensed her hesitation. She still didn't make eye contact with him.</p><p>"That was my graduation at Fort Benning. I was deployed for my first tour shortly after that. Will was in the middle of med school exams and still flew out to surprise me with my mom. My dad didn't come", Jay explained, a hint of sadness in his voice at the end.</p><p>Hailey bit the side of her lip, watching Jay come up to stand next to her to stare at the old photo, unsure what she should say.</p><p>She stared at him out of the corner of her eye quietly for a minute, just now realizing that he was still dressed in his court outfit, a sharp navy blue suit. He had undone the top button of his dress shirt, making him look more relaxed. Snap out of it Hailey.</p><p>"How old were you here?" She wondered.</p><p>"20. Not even old enough to legally drink a beer and there I was, off to fight a war. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, had no idea how much life would change after this picture", he smiled weakly and shook his head as he looked down at the floor.</p><p>She could feel her heart breaking for him, this picture symbolizing the last of his youth, his innocence even. She couldn't imagine the tough times he had past this, in the war and at home with his mom.</p><p>She gently put a hand on the middle of his back, he subtly flinched at the contact but she didn't pull back. They stood there for another minute in silence, just looking at the pictures scattered on the shelves together before Jay came back to reality.</p><p>"Tacos are getting cold", he smiled at her, silently thanking her for the moment they just shared.</p><p>"I'll make margaritas, Will's got good tequila here", Hailey smiled, that earning a laugh from her partner.</p><p>"Now you're talking", Jay replied and followed her into the kitchen.</p><p>"Will's okay?" He asked, temporarily forgetting why they were both in his brother's condo.</p><p>"Ya I think so. Bit of a headache, but he's been sleeping all day so hopefully he'll feel better when he wakes up", she replied.</p><p>They tried not to make too much noise but inevitably the blender woke Will up. It was almost 6 o'clock and he had been sleeping for the majority of the day so they didn't feel too guilty about it.</p><p>"Just in time for dinner Will", Hailey motioned to the spread they had out on his kitchen table.</p><p>"Good, my stomachs been grumbling", he replied, trying not to open his eyes too far, the light was hurting them.</p><p>"You okay man? How many fingers am I holding up?" Jay joked.</p><p>"I'm good thanks. I'll probably eat and go back to bed to be honest", he replied.</p><p>"Go sit down Will I'll bring dinner over", Hailey shooed him out of the kitchen.</p><p>"Jay your work wife runs a tight ship", Will joked as he snuck some tortillas and guac off the counter before sitting at his table.</p><p>"Don't I know it", Jay replied with a chuckle, Will noticing neither of them reacted to the work wife comment.</p><p>"I must say you are a lot more compliant than your brother when it comes to resting", Hailey noted as the three of them sat down to eat together. Jay shot her an eye roll.</p><p>"A perfect patient", Will joked.</p><p>"I wouldn't go that far, Jay you should have seen the production your brother, the doctor, made when I had to put eye drops in for him", Hailey laughed.</p><p>"Sounds like I missed an exciting afternoon", Jay said sarcastically with a grin.</p><p>"How was your day? How was court?" Hailey asked as she inhaled her dinner.</p><p>"Nothing crazy, boring", Jay leaned back in his chair, looking more relaxed after he took his suit jacket off. The three of them ate their dinner, enjoying each others company and conversation.</p><p>Will found himself yawning again, Hailey and Jay taking notice.</p><p>"Why don't you go back to bed, we'll clean up, let Kohl out once more and head home for the night okay?" Jay told him. His brother nodded, Hailey following him to his room to help with his eye drops again. Jay grabbed the dog leash, a happy Kohl following him to the door.</p><p>"Who is the best walker ever", he cooed in his own dog voice as he came back into the condo.</p><p>"Heard that", Hailey laughed as she was cleaning up Will's kitchen.</p><p>"Everyone has a dog voice Hailey, don't think I haven't heard you call him Kohly Wohly before", Jay smiled.</p><p>"Can't help it, look how cute he is", Hailey said as she knelt down to pet him, their four legged friend kissing her face in return.</p><p>"I know, I know. Okay all good here? I'll lock up", Jay said, Hailey nodding. She grabbed her stuff from the entryway and said bye to Kohl.</p><p>"Come on work wife, let's get out of here", Jay grinned.</p><p>Hailey rolled her eyes and jokingly grabbed onto Jay's arm as he escorted her down the hallway. "Okay hubby, what do you say, I'm a little underdressed but are you taking me out for a night on the town or what?" She couldn't help but eye him in his suit still, he looked good. He laughed glancing down at her leggings and messy bun.</p><p>"I was thinking my place actually", Jay said forwardly.</p><p>Hailey raised an eyebrow at that, "Oh. Jay Halstead."</p><p>"Now, now Hailey, don't get too ahead of yourself", Jay smiled at her cheekily. "You and I have a hot date with the MJ documentary tonight and I need to get out of this suit ASAP."</p><p>"That sounds perfect to me. I caught up to you today, so we can binge the rest tonight."</p><p>"Productive day", Jay mused.</p><p>"The most", Hailey got off the elevator with him and walked out to their vehicles.</p><p>"Thanks for doing this today seriously, I owe you one", Jay said sincerely.</p><p>"It was no trouble, I enjoy spending time with Will", Hailey replied.</p><p>"You guys are two peas in a pod. But am I still your favourite Halstead?!" Jay asked.</p><p>Hailey smiled coyly and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll meet you at your place in twenty!"</p><p>Jay tried to hide his hurt when she didn't answer. He waved and went to get into his truck. He was about to get in as he heard her shout from a few cars over.</p><p>"And Jay-", she shouted. He popped his head over the hood of his truck.</p><p>"You are definitely my favourite Halstead", she flashed her dimples at him.</p><p>He scrunched his nose and grinned back at her as he hopped in off the running boards. Things with Hailey were better than ever, whatever the thing was anyways. Little did they know, they were about to have the rug ripped right from underneath them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I am a sucker for Hailey and Will being imaginary best friends! Maybe next season we'll get lucky. After I got lasik eye surgery all I wanted was a milkshake and a McChicken...that inspired the post-surgery snack haha. Starting to take this in a slightly different direction than the show's original storylines, but I'm hoping you all still enjoy! I'm going to try and update this a little more frequently now! Happy Saturday (even though it's snowing in May where I live) - K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Needle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 19</p><p>Jay left his physiotherapists office rubbing his shoulder. A few weeks had gone by and the treatments were working, but things were still sore. His physio recommended he try a cortisone shot to help with the inflammation. Jay put on a brave face and said he would look into it, his face white with how large the needle was after some googling.</p><p>"It is a bit uncomfortable, but I think it would really help with your shoulder and the inflammation inside. Once the inflammation subsides the pain should too", he told Jay.</p><p>Jay reluctantly agreed and before he knew it he had a little card with an appointment time on it to meet with an orthopaedic surgeon at Med.</p><p>Hailey could tell Jay was nervous about something for the last few days. He had been fidgeting and more irritable than usual. This week had been busy at work, so she chocked it up to that. That was until she saw the card in the cup holder while she was waiting in his truck as he ran in to grab coffees from their favourite bakery.</p><p>"When were you going to tell me about this?" Hailey held up the card, noting the appointment was tomorrow morning.</p><p>Jay rolled his eyes snatching it out of her hand. "It's not a big deal. I'm getting a cortisone shot tomorrow to help with my shoulder."</p><p>Hailey sensed his nerves about the whole ordeal. "Jay you hate needles. Are you sure about this?"</p><p>"Ya, my physio said it would help. Willing to try anything at this point", he told her calmly, he did a decent job of putting a mask back on to hide his nerves.</p><p>"Do you need a ride there?" Hailey asked, what she was really trying to say was Do you want me to go with you.</p><p>"I should be okay, thanks though", Jay shut that down immediately. Hailey didn't take it personally, this was just his usual defence mode.</p><p>"Alright, let me know", she ended the conversation there, knowing that pushing the matter wouldn't get her anywhere. If she had learned anything it was that Jay was like a cat, you had to let him come to you.</p><p>The rest of the day went by slowly, it was a dull day of paperwork and responding to a few bogus calls around the city. Voight was called into meetings with the superintendent all day, leaving Intelligence to fend for themselves up in the bullpen.</p><p>Jay had been quiet since their exchange earlier that morning, cordial, but keeping Hailey at an arms length. It was silly, he knew that. But he just didn't want to think about getting the shot tomorrow. He had made the mistake of looking up the procedure on Youtube beforehand, and it made him feel even worse about it. But he wasn't going to let Hailey know that, how he was scared to get a simple shot. No, he wasn't going to let her see him like that. He was just trying to get through the rest of the work day. He had told Voight earlier in the week that he was getting the shot on Friday and he gave him the day off.</p><p>"Oh that's okay Sarge, I don't think I need the day. Just a few hours in the afternoon", Jay reasoned.</p><p>"Trust me Jay you're going to want the day. I had one of those in my knee a few years back, you'll be sore for the day", Voight replied.</p><p>Jay gulped, trying not to show his weakness in front of his boss. "Alright thanks."</p><p>"Is your partner driving you?" Voight pried, eager to see Jay's response.</p><p>"No, I was going to drive myself. Or maybe see if Will was around", Jay replied.</p><p>"Hmm", Voight grunted. Jay was unsure what that meant. "Well if Hailey needs time off too you just let me know", he smiled coyly at Jay.</p><p>Jay let out a laugh, "Thanks Sarge."</p><p>Voight thought it was funny, Jay's apprehension to show fear, weakness. He understood, he was the same way. But even his response to asking if Hailey was going with him set Jay into immediate defensive mode. Needing to show that he was fine on his own. It was comical, the two of them at this point.</p><p>"Hey, I'm done with my report, need any help on yours?" Hailey asked him just before lunch.</p><p>"No I said I would do it", Jay sassed back, a little more harshly than he intended.</p><p>"Oh-kay then", she replied, exaggerating the two syllables.</p><p>Kim and Kevin shot her a what's wrong with him look, and Hailey just shrugged and did a hands up motion. She didn't have the patience to deal with him today. She knew he was just anxious and taking it out on her, but she would let him figure that out.</p><p>"Let's go grab lunch you guys?" Hailey asked Kim and Kevin, intentionally leaving Jay out of the picture. The two officers nodded, giving Jay an apologetic look. He just sat at his desk, pouting a little, watching them as they walked away.</p><p>Hailey had kept her distance from Jay the rest of the day, occasionally reaching over to steal a pen or ask him a question about their other reports. Jay took notice of that and it made him feel crappy. He had been a bit cold with her this morning and he knew it was just because he was preoccupied and nervous for tomorrow. But still, he didn't mean to take it out on her, of all people, especially not Hailey.</p><p>Intelligence as a whole had the motto of "keeping things in house". Hailey and Jay had their own version of "in house", and the team knew better than to ask the two of them what was going on when they bickered. They would figure it out, they always did, and the rest of them were usually none the wiser of what actually happened. Whatever it was, it would be worked out between the two of them, privately. Vanessa, Kim and Kevin didn't say anything about their earlier squabble. Adam had been running around doing errands for Voight that morning so he hadn't really noticed anything off in the bullpen when he returned later that afternoon.</p><p>"Hailey, can you run this for me", Adam yelled over to her, trying to look at stolen plates connected to a convenience store robbery he was looking into.</p><p>"Sure thing", she grabbed his notebook, Jay eyeing her the whole time. While the two of them were distracted working together he managed to sneak out, having to run an errand of his own.</p><p>Hailey had run down to talk to Platt for a few minutes about Cruz's upcoming wedding this weekend. All of Intelligence had been invited, and Platt had a rare girly moment and was showing Hailey a photo of the dress she was wearing.</p><p>"Wow, Sarge very nice", Hailey eyes sparkled as she smiled.</p><p>"And you? What are you wearing? Have you and Detective Chuckles coordinated outfits?" Trudy grinned resting her face in her hands that were perched up on her desk.</p><p>Hailey rolled her eyes and shot her a smirk. "No, we actually haven't. He hasn't asked me to prom, I mean the wedding, yet", she whispered looking around, grinning.</p><p>That got Trudy laughing, "As if he needs to ask you to be his date."</p><p>"Doesn't count as a date if we're both invited Sarge", Hailey smirked right back, avoiding the inevitable date conversation. Sure her and Jay had talked about going to the wedding together, as in travelling from point A to point B in the same vehicle together. So not a date. Much different.</p><p>"Right, much different. I'm sure you'll be arriving separately then", she winked.</p><p>"Mhmmm", Hailey gave her a cheeky grin and walked back upstairs to the bullpen.</p><p>Jay had used his time away from the district to run to Stan's to grab a donut for him and his partner. He owed her for being cranky this morning.</p><p>Hailey walked up to find a little bag sitting on her desk and smiled, knowing immediately what was inside of it.</p><p>She raised an eyebrow at Jay, testing the waters, not letting him off the hook quite yet.</p><p>"Peace offering", he flashed his own signature grin that always made her cave.</p><p>"Hmmm, for what?" Hailey played dumb as she opened the bag, her mouth watering at her favourite snack.</p><p>The rest of the team eavesdropped on their conversation, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Kevin was aggressively pointing at the two of them, hiding his face behind a folder. Kim was giddy with excitement. For Rojas this was nothing new, and Ruzek was a bit oblivious to the whole exchange. He hadn't been around for the majority of the day and felt the tension in the air like the others had. But they were excited because they were actually witnessing a resolution to a Hailey and Jay bickering match. They usually did this behind closed doors.</p><p>Jay cleared his throat, aware that they had an audience. Hailey saw it too, a small smile creeping across her face as she waited for him to apologize in front of the others.</p><p>"For being an ass this morning", he said matter of factly.</p><p>"Oh, I didn't notice", Hailey said after a long pause, mischievously taking a bite of her donut and winking at him. He bit his lip and shook his head, pretending to give her an eye roll.</p><p>"This must have just been a ploy to get a donut then", Jay joked.</p><p>"Oh Halstead, you know me so well. And should realize by now that I always win", she whispered that last part only to him.</p><p>He nodded knowingly as she walked past him into the lunch room, the wandering eyes of his co-workers watching their every move.</p><p>"Any constructive feedback from the peanut gallery?" He asked innocently.</p><p>Kevin scratched his head, Rojas chuckled and Kim looked nervous. Ruzek still had no idea what was going on. "You guys never stay mad long, I can't keep up", he shrugged.</p><p>Jay laughed. Kevin added, "I really like how you handled that with food. Great choice on Stan's. Next time may I suggest a slice of deep dish?" Jay scoffed at that.</p><p>"You ever see me bringing deep dish to Hailey midday in front of you guys at work, sound the alarm because that's when I'm really in trouble."</p><p>They all laughed at that, Hailey joining them, outing Jay to the rest of the group.</p><p>"He's just being a nervous nelly because he has to get a shot tomorrow", she sipped her coffee, enjoying that she won this battle.</p><p>"Your shoulder? Everything alright?" Adam piped up.</p><p>"Ya all good, it's just a bit stiff still. Apparently this will help speed up the healing process", Jay said. "I watched a Youtube video, and it was a big mistake", Jay admitted and shuddered.</p><p>"You'll be okay", Hailey said as she came up behind him. Rojas staring at them, remembering her conversation with Hailey when Jay was in surgery. The man hates needles. He'd rather take a bullet than get the flu shot. She wondered if maybe Hailey would go with him and put him out of his misery.</p><p>Everyone went back to work after that, Jay feeling a bit better after talking about it with the group. Hailey was perched on his desk, facing away from everyone. She was sitting there quietly, Jay watching as she smirked at him.</p><p>"Can I help you?" He teased.</p><p>"Something else you want to ask me?" She grinned.</p><p>Jay sheepishly looked around, the others averted their eyes, attempting to give them some privacy. "Will you come with me tomorrow?" He whispered, a boyish look in his eyes, a little bit afraid she might reject him.</p><p>That was quickly replaced with relief as Hailey smiled and leaned in so that their faces were as close as possible.</p><p>"All you had to do was say the word. Yes I will go with you tomorrow. I'll even hold your hand too", she teased.</p><p>"Wow I am a lucky guy", he said sarcastically, appealing to the team who were watching them intently. Once they had looked away, satisfied after witnessing that exchange, Jay locked eyes with Hailey, giving a look meant only for her, smiled bashfully and mouthed "Thank you."</p><p>She gently squeezed his bad shoulder, actually giving him a bit of relief, and got up off his desk to go back to her own.</p><p>Maybe tomorrow won't be so bad after all, he thought to himself.</p><p>Any thoughts he had about today not being that bad quickly vanished as he sat in the doctor's office, nervously tapping his foot, waiting for it to be over.</p><p>"Jay", Hailey said calmly, putting her hand over his knee so that he would quit bouncing it.</p><p>"Sorry", he said as he let out a sigh, trying to control the anxiety that was building.</p><p>He looked around, seeing all the degrees on the wall of Dr. Simpson, that putting him at ease just a little bit.</p><p>"It's going to be fine okay? Just relax", Hailey said gently, trying to calm him down, placing a hand over his that were clasped together.</p><p>That caused him to pause for a bit. Hailey was watching him carefully, she could see him getting worked up. Just then, Dr. Simpson entered the room and introduced himself to Jay and Hailey. He explained the procedure to Jay, showed him how he would be doing it on a model of a shoulder nearby. The fact that he was the best in Chicago, who all the professional athletes went to, gave Jay a bit of solace.</p><p>Dr. Simpson looked over at Hailey and smiled. "Your cheering squad?" He joked at Jay, that caused him to crack a smile.</p><p>She nodded, "Here for moral support, my partner here is a little squeamish when it comes to needles."</p><p>"Ahh I see. Well Jay I assure you I have done this hundreds of times, it's going to be over before you know it", Dr. Simpson reassured him.</p><p>Jay nodded and took a few deep breaths as he was instructed to sit at the edge of the exam table. A nurse came in, bringing in the necessary supplies and before Jay could protest the process was underway.</p><p>He hopped off the table to take his shirt off, exaggerating it a bit for Hailey who couldn't help but check him out. "My eyes are up here Hailey", he raised his eyebrows and they laughed together. The laughing helped ease his nerves a bit.</p><p>She took his grey henley from him and set it on top of the chair he was just sitting in.</p><p>"Any questions before we get started Jay?" Dr. Simpson asked, noticing he had turned a shade paler than a few minutes ago.</p><p>Jay shook his head, biting his bottom lip nervously. Hailey watched as Jay made the mistake of turning his head and seeing the large needle that was about to be put into his shoulder joint.</p><p>She saw it coming before the nurse did, as Jay's body started to go a little limp and his eyes rolled back. Hailey moved in front of him just in time, catching him before he fell forward.</p><p>It happened so quickly, Dr. Simpson barely had time to react. He was thankful that Hailey had been there to prevent a face plant. He chuckled a bit after realizing that Jay was alright, and had just fainted from the needle, that nothing else was wrong. "We've got a fainter I see", he got in front to check it out.</p><p>Hailey had him sitting mostly upright still, her arms around his back in a hug, supporting the weight of his upper body slouched against her own. His head was against her shoulder, she was rubbing his bare back trying to get him to come to, cradling his head with her other.</p><p>"It's alright Jay, you're alright", she murmured, as she felt him come to a few seconds after it happened.</p><p>"Here, let's lie him down for a few minutes", Dr. Simpson and the nurse moved to help her manoeuvre Jay so that he was lying down on the exam table and elevated his feet.</p><p>Jay was blinking his eyes rapidly right before he snapped out of it. He looked up to see a few faces crowding around him, focusing in on Hailey right away.</p><p>"Hey. You okay? You fainted on me", she said half laughing half seriously.</p><p>He nodded his head slowly, trying to get up before he felt a pair of hands pushing him back down. "Just lie down for a few minutes Jay, no rush", the nurse told him.</p><p>He felt embarrassed, which must have shown on his face because he heard Dr. Simpson next. "Don't worry about it, this happens more often than you think", he told him.</p><p>Hailey smiled at him, it took him a minute to clue in that the hands he felt resting on his forearm and across his forehead were hers. He closed his eyes and focused on grounding himself for a few minutes. The nurse and Dr. Simpson had left the room to see another patient to give Jay a chance to calm down. They brought him some juice and cookies to get his blood sugar back up. Jay sat up cautiously, with Hailey keeping a close eye on him to watch for any more fainting spells.</p><p>"You must think I'm a huge baby", Jay laughed at himself as Hailey watched him sip the juice slowly.</p><p>"I don't think you're a baby. It's okay to be nervous", she reasoned with him.</p><p>"You feeling better?" She asked as he finished the juice and cookies. He nodded in return.</p><p>"I also didn't eat breakfast today, which I now realize was a rookie mistake", he told her.</p><p>"You think? I'm glad I came with you", she replied and shook her head. He didn't think sometimes.</p><p>"Thanks for spotting me back there", he grinned and snuck a quick glance at her hand that was still resting on his bare chest.</p><p>"Partners don't let partners face plant alone", she joked. Jay smiled in response.</p><p>Dr. Simpson and the nurse came back in a few minutes later, Jay assuring him he was ready now. "Nothing to worry about, just your vasovagal response kicking in." Jay nodded after he explained what that was. He was trying to politely say that Jay just got really scared and passed out.</p><p>"Maybe just keep your eyes on Hailey this time Jay", Dr. Simpson encouraged him.</p><p>Jay laughed, "Twist my arm, definitely a better view."</p><p>Hailey blushed unexpectedly at that. Leave it to Jay to turn on the charm when he was shirtless on a surgeons exam room table. She rolled her eyes and smiled.</p><p>His shoulder was prepped and prodded for a few minutes before inserting the needle.</p><p>"Now Jay, I want you to relax your left shoulder and take a big breath in okay, try to stay as still as possible. On the count of three", Dr. Simpson said.</p><p>Jay gulped, and still looked nervous as hell, he was looking to Hailey for reassurance, which she gave him in the form of physical contact.</p><p>She was still standing directly in front of him in case he tipped forward again. She discreetly reached out and took Jay's right hand in her own. Her touch surprised him, enough to distract him as the needle went in. He gently squeezed her hand and winced, her thumb running against the back of his palm trying to comfort him.</p><p>It really was over before he knew it. Dr. Simpson saying how well it went, that he might feel a bit sore for the rest of the day but he should be on the mend by tomorrow. Jay's brain was foggy, not from nerves this time, but rather the way Hailey's small hand was still wrapped in his.</p><p>He took a few minutes to sit still, the nurse stayed behind to make sure he didn't have a reaction or feel unwell from the shot. Once they got the all clear Hailey handed him his shirt, helping him put it on over his sore shoulder.</p><p>"Déjà-vu huh", he half-smiled, thinking back to the early post-surgery days when Hailey helped him get dressed more days than she did not.</p><p>She forced a half-smile, those were not happy days. Sure she was more than happy to stay with Jay and take care of him, but being reminded of almost losing him always made her feel emotionally drained. If he noticed the forced smile he didn't say anything. They were on their way out the door, thanking Dr. Simpson and the nurse before they left.</p><p>Jay got in the passenger side of Hailey's Jeep and they made casual conversation on their way back to his place. Hailey sat with him for the rest of the afternoon, iced his shoulder a few times when the pain would temporarily increase, and made dinner.</p><p>"I really wanted takeout", Jay pretended to complain, really whatever Hailey made was always better than ordering in anyways.</p><p>"I have to fit into a dress tomorrow", Hailey reminded him as she stuffed her face with salad.</p><p>Jay gave her a sarcastic look and followed it up with a compliment. "A slice of pizza wouldn't have been a deal breaker 12 hours before you know. You're going to look great regardless."</p><p>She smiled at him out of the corner of her eye, "Thanks. And I think what you're looking for is dinner was good Hailey."</p><p>He threw his head back and laughed and she threatened to smack him, he instinctively grabbed his left arm. "Okay, okay. You're right, that was rude of me. Thank you for dinner it was great I love your cooking."</p><p>"Now you're just kissing ass", she grinned.</p><p>"Ugh can't win with you", Jay joked.</p><p>They turned their attention back to the TV and finished another episode of The Last Dance before Hailey yawned and excused herself. Jay pouted momentarily, but couldn't complain since she had spent the majority of the day with him.</p><p>"Your shoulders okay?" Hailey made sure as she got up to leave. She gave him a once over, making sure he wasn't feverish or in worse shape than he was letting on.</p><p>"Ya I'm okay. It's a bit stiff, but I'll ice it again before I go to bed", Jay confirmed.</p><p>"Right, well I'm going to head out. Early day of pampering tomorrow morning", Hailey jokingly rolled her eyes. She was as low maintenance as it gets, but Vanessa insisted on getting all dolled up for the wedding. She was doing it more for her young roommate than anything, who had never been to a "fancy, grown-up wedding", as she called it.</p><p>It was even funnier as they got word today that 51 had been in a bit of a scuffle at their house and Joe ended up with stitches in his eyebrow. Will had sent them a picture, with Cruz's permission of course. Jay and Hailey winced, but laughed as they saw Casey and Severide in the background giving a thumbs up, sporting a few cuts and bruises themselves.</p><p>"Thanks for today, I appreciate it", Jay genuinely told her.</p><p>"Anytime partner. It's a good thing I was there or you may have ended up getting stitched up along with these guys", she referenced the picture Will sent her again.</p><p>"Ya, ya I know", Jay chuckled. "I'll pick you up at noon tomorrow?" He suddenly felt a little nervous, like they were actually going as a couple or something even though he knew it was ridiculous and that this was definitely not that.</p><p>"Sounds good to me, night Jay", Hailey said as she shut the apartment door behind her.</p><p>Jay smiled, hoping he'd be able to get some sleep that night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A random chapter, but trying to drag out the fluff before I'm mean and send Hailey off to New York! Hope you enjoy -K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. First Dance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 20</p><p>Hailey was rushing around the next morning trying to do her hair and makeup, paint her nails, and organize herself for the wedding. As usual she slept in a little later than she planned and was pushing making it on time.</p><p>Rojas was yelling at her that Jay was in the driveway and that she better hurry up and get down here the ceremony was starting soon. Shit, Hailey muttered as she put the finishing touches on her outfit. She did a once over in the mirror as she heard Jay and Vanessa talking downstairs.</p><p>"I can't believe you fainted", Vanessa laughed as she teased him.</p><p>"Hey, it was a big needle, don't let Hailey downplay that", Jay chuckled back.</p><p>She made it almost to the bottom of the stairs before their heads turned to the sound of her heels clicking against the hardwood floors.</p><p>Jay did a sharp inhale as soon as he saw her, Hailey quite literally took his breath away. He couldn't believe his eyes, how stunning she looked, and that dress. The strapless navy floor length gown hugged her body in all of the right places, her hair gently pulled back in a bun with curls flowing out the side. And those red lips, wow, he accidentally muttered a little louder than he intended. Hailey didn't hear but Rojas definitely did. He shot her a don't you dare death stare. It was a polar opposite to her everyday, jeans-and-plaid-with-a-messy-ponytail look, that he also loved, but he could not take his eyes off of her.</p><p>Hailey watched as he stared at her silently, following his eye gaze as it travelled up and down her body, suddenly feeling very uncharacteristically self-conscious. His hand came up to cover the fact that his jaw was hanging wide open. She shyly tugged at her navy blue dress, trying to smooth it.</p><p>Vanessa stepped in, giddy over the fact that these two fools in love were just standing there, unable to form words for each other.</p><p>"Hailey, mi niña bonita!" Vanessa exclaimed.</p><p>She grinned suspiciously, "What does that mean?"</p><p>"My beautiful girl", tenderly spilled out of Jay's mouth before he could control himself.</p><p>He meant it as a translation to what Rojas said, but the second it left his lips he realized that it was really what he wanted to tell Hailey in this moment anyways. He considered chickening out and making a joke to lighten the mood, but instead he held his smouldering gaze with Hailey's, challenging her, temporarily forgetting Vanessa was in the room at all.</p><p>His cheeks were a rosy colour now, Rojas couldn't believe her own ears and by the look on Hailey's face, neither could she.</p><p>The tension was so thick in their entryway Vanessa was sure she could have cut it with a knife. She watched for what felt like an hour, when in reality it was only a few seconds. But those few seconds told her everything she needed to know about her roommate and her partner. Jay and Hailey exchanging telling looks with each other, having a silent conversation of their own. She knew they were in love before, but this might have finally changed the tide, or at least got the ball rolling.</p><p>My beautiful girl almost set Hailey over the edge, even closer than that day in the hospital when she nearly came clean with Jay about how she felt. She watched him as he first looked embarrassed that he blurted that out, then shifted immediately to unwavering confidence. Maybe her feelings weren't so one-sided after all. It was subtle, but his tells were so obvious to her. The way that suit was bringing out the colour of his eyes, ones that were flickering with desire, how he was subtly biting his bottom lip. She was melting, and if Jay told her they should just skip the wedding and stay here the rest of the day she might have considered it.</p><p>But instead, she cleared her throat, smiling at both of them, thanking Vanessa for the compliment. "You clean up nice Jay", Hailey winked at him. He smiled back, knowing he had her, and not caring that she saw right through him in that moment. She knew, she had to know. Just as quick as the moment had occurred, in an instant it was gone, fleeting in time. But it was one that they would certainly re-visit, one day.</p><p>"And who would have thought, Jay a Spanish speaker?" Rojas was surprised and impressed.</p><p>"I have all sorts of secrets Vanessa", he smiled coyly at her.</p><p>"Mmmm, I bet you do", the young officer winked at him as she walked out the door first, allowing Jay and Hailey to have a little moment in private.</p><p>It was just the two of them hanging in their front hall now, Jay felt a bit frozen for a second before holding out an arm for Hailey to grab onto.</p><p>"A gentleman", she mused.</p><p>"What can I say Hails", he grinned back at her. "You look really nice", he whispered softly. Her smile went wide at that again, "You do too Jay", as she pulled his arm a little closer to her side.</p><p>Jay paused to open the passenger door of his truck for her. Vanessa had already hopped in the backseat.</p><p>They rode to the church together, laughing about 51's shenanigans yesterday. Kevin and Rojas had been at the scene and she had Hailey and Jay howling in the front over what happened.</p><p>"I mean it wasn't super funny at the time because we thought Cruz was really hurt, and the day before his wedding no less. But afterwards we had a good laugh about it. Hope their photographer is good at editing", she joked.</p><p>They pulled up and rushed into the church to find a seat, the rest of the team was already there and Vanessa had gone in a few minutes ahead with Kevin.</p><p>"Ready?" Jay asked as he caught Hailey staring into space.</p><p>"Hmm, ya let's find a spot", she smiled.</p><p>Since it was just the two of them, their entrance was even more obvious and watched by their co-workers and fellow first responders. Jay and Hailey walked up the aisle together, not linked at the arm, but close. Jay had his hand discreetly on her back, just barely touching, but it was there, guiding her along. They were smiling at each other, talking quietly so that only the other could hear.</p><p>"Wow okay Upstead", Kevin said under his breath, eyeing the two detectives up, looking like a powerful duo striding down the aisle.</p><p>"You should have seen what just went down at our house before this. I will remember the look on Jay's face forever when he saw Hailey in that dress, mark my words", Vanessa stressed, whispering to Kim and Adam too. Her eyes wide, and she mimicked fireworks exploding with her hands. They all chuckled at that, quickly turning around so that Hailey and Jay didn't catch them staring.</p><p>"You guys look great", Kim said, the rest of the unit agreeing, even Voight flashed them a smile of approval. Trudy was a bit further down sitting with Mouch, but she leaned over and pointed and smiled. "Matching", she mouthed at their navy combination and winked at Hailey. She gave her a devilish grin, shrugged her shoulders and waved back with Jay.</p><p>The ceremony was short and sweet, Joe and Chloe looked amazing together. They gathered afterwards for a few photos and then made their way to the reception hall for the after party. Hailey's feet were killing her already, she was quickly reminded why she never wore heels, but she was determined to stick it out.</p><p>Kelly Severide had the room in hysterics with his best man speech, Stella and Sylvie said a few words about Otis that had everyone teary-eyed. His presence was sorely missed today. They ended with a toast and kicked off the fun part of the night, the dance floor.</p><p>The women of 51 and the 21st were gathered in a group, waiting for Chloe to toss her bouquet. Hailey wasn't really taking it too seriously until she saw the flowers flying right at her, her inner competitive edge kicking in and snatching them from Brett's grasp.</p><p>"And Detective Hailey Upton snags the bouquet", Severide announced. "She won't break the law, but she WILL break your hearts, everyone give Upton a hand", Hailey was shaking her head at the Squad Lieutenant, bowing at the applause. Kelly flashed her a wink and not so discreetly looked in Jay's direction. She turned around, catching Jay smiling her way, she raised the bouquet at him, he clapped back at her in approval.</p><p>The team was sitting around a table having drinks together, catching up and sharing some old stories. Vanessa asking questions about everyone's past, she was fascinated by the intricate history of this unit. "You guys ever think about getting married?" She tossed out to the group, who she realized, were all "single" except for Trudy and well Voight, but that was a little different. She held eye contact extra long with Hailey and Jay.</p><p>Hailey smiled nervously, knowing a part of his past that Vanessa was unaware of.</p><p>"I was married once", Jay confessed to the rookie.</p><p>"Wait what. You were married?!" Vanessa asked wide-eyed, immediately looking to Hailey who did not seem surprised by this news, okay crisis averted, she thought.</p><p>"It was a long time ago, and short lived, during my not so great decision-making post Afghanistan", he explained. The team looked around at one another, surprised he was being this open in front of everyone, Voight and Trudy included. They all chuckled in response.</p><p>"Rojas, did I ever tell you about the time that I took Ruzek here to dinner with my dad and pretended he was my boyfriend?" Trudy blurted out, trying to divert the attention from a suddenly quiet Jay. He smiled in appreciation at her.</p><p>Half the people at the table nearly spat out their drink. Hailey couldn't stop laughing either, she could picture it now, must have been the strangest dinner date of all time.</p><p>"I forgot all about that", Kim was howling, Adam caught off guard by that, almost choking on his drink with laughter.</p><p>"Do I even want to know", Voight warned jokingly.</p><p>"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to Hank", Trudy replied back, causing everyone at the table erupt in laughter at their Sergeants' banter.</p><p>Later on in the night, the team was actively enjoying the open bar, swooned over the first dance, and participated in the Macarena together.</p><p>Hailey was sitting down at a table with Kim and Vanessa, who had just come back from the dance floor with none other than Jay Halstead himself, who had loosened up and taken his tie off, leaving the top button of his dress shirt undone. A rare carefree side of Jay sneaking out tonight.</p><p>"You know he wants to dance with you Hailey", Vanessa said referring to Jay.</p><p>"What, no he doesn't. I don't dance V", Hailey rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Hailey you will share a bed half naked with that man but you won't dance with him?" Rojas was testing the waters now, Kim once again was caught with her mouth wide open.</p><p>Hailey shot her roommate a cheeky grin, "That's…not the same thing", was the only rebuttal she could come up with. Kim just continued to stare wide-eyed, Hailey laughing at her confusion, and maybe her fear to even ask what that meant.</p><p>And as luck had it, the next song that played was a slow song. She watched as Kelly and Stella made their way to the dance floor surrounded by Joe and Chloe, Mouch and Trudy, even Kim and Adam. She didn't notice Jay sneak up until he was standing right in front of her.</p><p>He extended a hand to his partner, who glanced sceptically at him before grabbing it and pulling herself out of her seat.</p><p>"Come on Hails, I know you have two left feet but humour me. Follow my lead", he smiled as she gently punched his arm.</p><p>They made their way to the dance floor, feeling a few eyes on them. Suddenly, Hailey didn't really care that much, they were at a wedding, enjoying their time together. It was an innocent dance between two partners.</p><p>She thought she would be more nervous, but instead she felt relaxed, calm, as if this was already second nature to them. Even in heels she still only came up to just below his chin. Perfect height to nearly rest her chin on his shoulder, to fit between the crook of his neck. She was so close now she could smell his cologne, hear his breath in her ear and feel the vibration from his voice, sending a tickle down her spine. Jay spent a minute inhaling her shampoo, the lavender scent he had grown so accustom to, one that often lingered behind on his pillow days after she had spent the night. He had his right hand against the small of her back, taking time to appreciate the feeling of the smooth satin fabric beneath his fingertips. His left hand was holding up her right one, using it to guide them along. After they settled in and he felt her nerves come down he decided to break out a few of his signature moves. She was surprised at first when he twirled her around but quickly found their rhythm again like they did in most things.</p><p>They didn't realize that a few pairs of eyes watching them turned into almost the entire room, seemingly mesmerized by either realizing there was a spark between Hailey and Jay for the first time or getting satisfaction from witnessing it unravel so publicly.</p><p>Hailey's eyes stayed on his the majority of the time, their movements fluid, natural and trusting with one another. Like most things and especially in this moment right now, Jay was her anchor, an everyday fixture of her existence. Keeping her grounded in all the corners of her life, making her feel confident, safe and secure. An extension of herself through all the ups and downs of their chaotic professional and personal worlds.</p><p>The song ended, the two of them pausing for an extra minute to soak in and enjoy the rare excuse to display public affection for one another before returning to their guarded selves. They parted ways, their hands lingering for a half-second more before re-joining their group.</p><p>"Want another drink?" Jay asked as he pointed towards the bar, as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened.</p><p>"Sure, thanks", Hailey smiled as she sat down with the ladies of the 21st.</p><p>They were silent for a minute, watching Hailey's expression. None of this seemed new or earth shattering for her, but to them, they had thoughts.</p><p>"What?!" She asked with a grin on her face.</p><p>"That was…", Kim started, struggling to find the right word.</p><p>"In-ti-mate", Vanessa stressed, Kim immediately nodding in agreement.</p><p>Hailey rolled her eyes and smiled, "You guys are blowing this out of proportion. He would have done the same with either of you", she said not really believing her own words, and by the looks of her friends faces neither did they.</p><p>"I see why you didn't want to dance with him Hailey. I am hot and bothered by what I just saw, I can't imagine you", Rojas teased.</p><p>"Vanessa", she hissed as she watched Jay approach their table with a round of drinks for everyone.</p><p>"Ladies", he smiled at the group, didn't take him being a detective to figure out that they had most likely just been discussing his first dance with Hailey.</p><p>"Thanks Jay", they replied, Hailey giving them all death glares to change the subject.</p><p>When it was time to leave later that night, one by one Intelligence filed, more like stumbled, out of the reception hall. Ruzek, Kevin and Jay had all been into the whisky and were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Perks of an open bar, and of the cigars Kevin brought with him to share with the guys. Hailey hated smoking but couldn't help but laugh at the three of them all in a circle in their fancy suits, looking like an old boys club.</p><p>"I feel like I could run a marathon right now", Jay was full of energy, circling the group in the parking lot.</p><p>Kim laughed. "Hmm, something tells me you aren't going to be feeling that way tomorrow."</p><p>"Guaranteed in bed with a headache all day", Hailey whispered to Vanessa.</p><p>They split up into Uber's and said their good-byes for the night.</p><p>Jay was left standing behind with Hailey and Vanessa, waiting for their ride. He was feeling bold so he moved behind his partner and leaned down to whisper in her ear.</p><p>"So, your place or mine?" He said in a low husky voice. Hailey looked back, realizing how close his face was to hers, eyeing him up to get a read on the meaning behind that.</p><p>Hailey's eyes widened, this was drunk Jay talking. But probably his most sobering thought, her own too if she was being honest. She felt a wave of emotions, and warmth spread across her body.</p><p>He held his breath, he knew that was very forward of him, even in his current state. He half expected her to slap him. But he was even more pleasantly surprised by her response.</p><p>"Mine. Your bed sucks", she winked and motioned for him to join her in the backseat.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>**changed from chapter posted on ff.net- I corrected the "beautiful girl" part, I hope it is more accurate now! A guest kindly helped me correct my Spanish, google translate is not always your friend lol. My apologies to the Spanish speakers out there, I hope the translation makes more sense now!** Quarantine has really brought out the writer in me….that and finally being able to breathe after finishing up the school year! Any other grad students out there wondering what the future might look like? Especially in the healthcare world… Anyways I digress. Using this time to write some happiness into our One Chicago universe. Can't quite bring myself to write Hailey leaving yet lol so couldn't help myself with this one and why wait to post! As usual thank you for all the wonderful comments, I love reading feedback on my stories and am so glad to see so many of you loving the updates. I've been reading a lot of other Upstead stories and enjoying all the creativity out there right now from you guys too keep it up! Enjoy -K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. The morning after</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Before you get into the next chapter- I hope you take a few minutes to read this message first.  I wanted to start this chapter with a message to all of my BIPOC friends on here- your life matters, BLACK LIVES MATTER! I stand with you and I will listen to you. I struggled with posting this, not out of fear of backlash or hate, but that I might not be using the right words or getting my thoughts across in the best way. I am not typically an outspoken person and sometimes shy away from making my opinions public. I now realize that is part of the problem, especially on issues like this. I am by no means an expert on this subject, I am doing my best to learn right now like I’m sure many of you are! And to be honest, writing hasn’t felt that important over the last few weeks given everything that’s going on in our world. But I wanted to make sure I shared this because it is so important. Systemic racism and discrimination has been ingrained in our society for hundreds of years (I live in Canada, not America. But these same issues exist here too within our Black, Indigenous and other minority groups). And I know that it cannot be solved over night or by a few people alone. However I do think the momentum lies with us to start the conversations, listen to each other and to look for ways to get involved. It is not up to the people of colour in our lives to educate us, we need to do that ourselves. </p><p>I know many of you out there (myself included) have grown up in a city or place of the world where you do not see racism or racist acts- this does not mean it is not happening.<br/>I do not understand, nor will I ever, what it’s like to be black in Canada (or America or anywhere else). But I do stand with those protesting and demanding justice and change.<br/>I have never been afraid to go for a jog, a walk in the park, or get pulled over by the police and I cannot imagine how that must feel for people with a different skin colour than mine. I have spent the last few days checking my white privilege and educating myself on how I can use my voice in my personal and professional life. Having white privilege does not mean that your life hasn’t been hard or that you haven’t struggled. It means that our skin tone isn’t one of the things making it harder. Not acknowledging your privilege is contributing to the problem. I saw a quote online this week, “We are all in the same storm of life, but not all of us are in the same boat” (some of us are in yachts, some of us are in small fishing boats, some might only have a life raft- you get the drift of how this can be applied to people weathering difficult situations and life events). I thought this was a really poignant way to sum up everything that’s happening in society right now, with COVID, the protesting, police brutality against the Black community, what privilege means, and really helped drive home my understanding of why it is important to say Black Lives Matter, instead of All Lives Matter. This is not an attack on anyone, please try and put yourselves in others shoes right now, and listen and validate their experiences. I don’t have the answers, but I do know I can hold myself more accountable in having the hard conversations about racism and putting in the work to educate myself and those around me, especially as someone working in healthcare. </p><p>I am trying to listen more actively and to learn, and find ways I can help drive collective change, even just in my close circle. I want there to be justice for George Floyd and the countless others. Those responsible for his murder must be held accountable, there is no excuse. Fellow white people- please use your voice to stand up for the injustices in our society and to be an ally for those who are facing racism and discrimination in our schools, communities, healthcare systems etc the list goes on. Take this time to educate yourselves on the systemic racism that exists in our world today, listen to BIPOC and other minority groups and take action where possible- sign petitions, support Black owned businesses, donate to bail funds and other organizations fighting racism in your local communities. There are tons of options on how to get involved and not all of them require financial contribution (although this does help if you are able to do so). This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch, but a good place to start if you are unsure of how to support this movement.</p><p>I do not think I have a “following” by any means, but I do know by the stats on here that many people around the world read my words. I hope that you take this message to heart today and reflect on what is going on, and more importantly WHY. Be outraged by it and let’s not be distracted by what the media is showing us (and what they aren’t). It is my hope that you also meet this message with the same (com)passion, open-mindedness and kindness as my fictional stories. My inbox is always a safe place, and I am always open to learning about different resources/books/podcasts etc that would help me become more educated on this matter. If you have the space/energy to do so please feel free to contribute to this conversation. I know this website is for fiction, but this is real life and I cannot think of a more pressing issue right now than justice and equality for our fellow humans. This is urgent. If you are protesting- I stand with you. The world needs more love, equality and tolerance. Our collective differences and diversity is a strength, not a weakness. Generations before us did not get this right, but I hope that we do. It’s on us now, let’s have those difficult conversations with ourselves, with our families and friends, the time is now- enough is enough. I know I will be. Thank you for reading this important message today. Stay safe out there everyone and enjoy this update. –K.</p><p>Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere- MLK.</p><p>Chapter 21</p><p>Hailey groaned as she opened her eyes, or attempted to. She had a pounding headache, and couldn’t for the life of her remember the last time she felt this hungover. It took her a second to become aware of her body in time and space, suddenly her eyes shooting open as she realized she was just in a tank top and underwear, pretty much naked in her books, especially lying here with her partner. </p><p>Oh my God, she internally shouted as she looked to the left of her and saw Jay lying there fast asleep. She watched him stir a few seconds later, coming to as well. She saw him repeat the same wake up that she just had, his eyes also becoming a little wide realizing that he too was also very naked.</p><p>“Mhmm, morning”, she cleared her throat. </p><p>Jay looked over at her, his face red with embarrassment. </p><p>“Umm, Hails…did we?....”, Jay asked confused, as he motioned downwards, then over to her as he peaked under the blankets.<br/>
Hailey snorted back, “That’s cute. That you think we had sex”, she grinned cheekily. She watched as Jay’s face scrunched up trying to process what had happened the night before, he was also very foggy and hungover.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, I don’t know how this happened”, Jay stated.</p><p>Hailey laughed, trying to brush off the situation, it was obvious that Jay’s memory from the night before was non-existent. It was funny in a way, but she was also feeling a bit hurt that he blacked out, she was hoping he would remember at least some of what happened between them.</p><p>“Tequila, I think that’s how this happened, guess we’ll never know”, Hailey smiled, pretending she didn’t care, didn’t want to make a big deal over this.</p><p>Jay eyed her closely, watching her face drop for a second as he confessed he didn’t remember what happened, or so she thought anyways. </p><p>“That’s cute, that you think I don’t remember kissing you”, Jay smirked, repeating her tone from a few minutes before. Hailey’s eyes went wide, and she flashed him her dimples as she bit her lip, blushing slightly as her eyes met his.</p><p>The events of the night before came flooding back to them as they stared at each other in silence and smiled.</p><p>XX</p><p>The ride home from Cruz and Chloe’s reception was your typical tipsy endeavour. Their Uber driver was blasting some classic hits and ever so kindly took them through the McDonald’s drive thru.</p><p>“Chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets”, Jay and Hailey were chanting at Vanessa from the backseat who was in charge of ordering as she was the least drunk of the three.</p><p>“Okay kids, you guys behave back there alright or I will turn this car around”, Vanessa joked, usually it was Hailey and Jay acting as her parents.</p><p>She laughed at the two detectives in the back seat, clearly enjoying themselves. They pulled up to their house, stumbled inside and feasted on their meal. Hailey disappeared into the kitchen and came back out with three tumblers and a nice bottle of tequila.</p><p>“I don’t think you two need anymore of that”, Vanessa chuckled and pointed at Jay in particular.</p><p>“Oh Vanessa, lighten up, we’re having an after party”, Jay said back to her, rather sassier than normal, which made Hailey burst out laughing.</p><p>“Okay if you insist”, she smiled and held out her glass so Hailey could fill it.</p><p>The three of them carried on in the living room until well past 3:30 in the morning. Vanessa could barely keep her eyes open, how was it that these two were out-partying her? She finally decided to call it a night, hoping that Hailey and Jay would have some alone time. She had this weird feeling that Hailey wanted her to stick around. That she was almost sensing some unusual nerves at being left alone with her partner, at what might finally happen or be discussed thanks to the liquid courage. After tonight, the wedding, the dancing- that wouldn’t surprise Vanessa one bit. Every single person in the room felt their chemistry, maybe it was about time realized it too.</p><p>“I am going to bed you guys”, Vanessa quietly announced as she yawned and got up from the couch. Hailey and Jay pouted.</p><p>“Party pooper”, Hailey joked, but winked in her direction, reading Vanessa’s mind. She winked back at her roommate, and discreetly raised her eyebrow in Jay’s direction. Vanessa mouthed good luck and disappeared upstairs.</p><p>That left Hailey and Jay in the living room with a half empty bottle of tequila and their dress clothes scattered on the couch. Jay’s suit jacket was hanging over the armrest, Hailey had taken her heels off and let down her hair. They were both sitting on pillows on the floor as Vanessa had been sprawled on the couch earlier. The fireplace was going, and Hailey looked around, realizing Vanessa lit a few candles before going upstairs. </p><p>Suddenly, her heart started racing, taking in the romantic setting. Jay noticed too, giving her a small smile holding out his hand. </p><p>“What’s on your mind Jay”, Hailey asked suspiciously.</p><p>He paused for a second, taking in her features in the soft glow of light from the fireplace.</p><p>“Dance with me?” He asked charmingly.</p><p>She raised her eyebrows, tilted her head and gave him a smile back. She accepted his hand as he helped pull her up to stand.</p><p>He pulled his phone out of his pocket to play some music. Hailey smiled as the familiar tune of an acoustic version of “Stand by Me” flooded her living room speaker. He gently twirled her around the living room like he did on the dance floor of Joe and Chloe’s reception. Only this time, it felt more intimate, just the two of them, barefoot by the fire and dim lighting of her house.</p><p>Hailey inhaled his scent, his woodsy cologne, the faint smell of the cigar he smoked on his clothes. They were laughing and dancing until the song ended at which point Hailey decided to question his moves.</p><p>“So, how did you learn to dance so well for real?” She asked.</p><p>“You’re gonna laugh at me”, he replied.</p><p>“I won’t, scouts honour”, she joked.</p><p>“Well, I was undercover once, years ago when I was still in Robbery-homicide. We were trying to bust this drug ring who was using a dance studio as their front, it was a smart operation really…”, Jay rambled about the detail and then got back on track when Hailey laughed and mimicked for him to get to the point.</p><p>“Long story short, I had to spend a lot of time at this studio for lessons, eventually just got good. And let me tell you, Ryan was a hit with the ladies in that class”, Jay chuckled, having not thought about that undercover in years.</p><p>“I’m sure you were”, Hailey jokingly rolled her eyes and grinned playfully.</p><p>The pair continued to hold each other close, slowly rotating on the living room floor, laughing about some of their other strange undercover operations, time seemed to fly by, neither of them wanting to release the other from their grasp. Jay was much chattier once he had a few, or twelve, drinks in him. Before they knew it the short playlist he had put on was over and it was nearing 4 in the morning.</p><p>Hailey went to pull away, to tell him they should go to bed when she stopped and looked at him, really looked at him. She knew that look in his eye.</p><p>“What’s really on your mind, I can hear you thinking from here”, she asked cautiously.</p><p>He bit the corner of his lip, just staring back into her eyes. He blinked a few times, gauging her reaction, her eyes told him yes, he knew how to read her too, so he went for it without thinking too much more about it.</p><p>Jay’s right hand came up to hold the back of her head, his fingers getting tangled in her hair. His left softly caressed her cheek, their eyes never separated.</p><p>Hailey almost shivered, he hadn’t even really touched her yet and somehow this was the most intimate she had ever felt with him. </p><p>His head came down to reach her, his lips just grazing hers at first. She felt him relinquish control to her, a subtle move that he would play this how she wanted to play this. So she kissed back, fiercely. It was short, but meaningful. He held her face to his for a few seconds longer before pulling back.</p><p>“That’s what’s really been on my mind”, he whispered into her ear.</p><p>She exhaled deeply. “Whoa.”<br/>
“Was that…Ryan…or was that Jay?” She asked, her voice felt smaller for a second, doubting that Jay actually wanted her the way she wanted him.</p><p>He shook his head at her and grinned, “I am Ryan”, he replied with confidence and she felt her shyness and her insecurities melt away. </p><p>“And Hailey, one other thing”… </p><p>“Mhmm”, acknowledging that there was more.</p><p>He paused, before giving her a lustful look, “That’s a beautiful dress, but I would really like to get you out of it.”</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey’s heart just about jumped out of her throat when she heard him say that. She looked into his eyes, searching for any sign of that being a joke, but she didn’t see one. The Jay Halstead standing in front of her in her living room was one hundred percent serious, giving her the most genuine gaze. That terrified and enthralled her all at once. </p><p>“Okay”, Hailey managed to get out, smiling at him, communicating her approval, her want, no need for him too.</p><p>He smirked back, and motioned to her stairs.</p><p>She followed him up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. </p><p>The whole way up she was thinking Wow, this is actually happening. Finally.</p><p>She paused as they entered her bedroom, telling Jay that she was going to wash her makeup off before they went to bed, he smiled and nodded before starting to take his suit off.</p><p>Hailey spent a few minutes alone washing her face, surprisingly not really feeling the need to look “sexy” for Jay. He had already seen her sleeping before, this was not new. However introducing the physicality into their relationship was. So for the sake of that she decided she was going to come out in just her underwear. At least make this a little like the movies, she giggled to herself.</p><p>She mustered up the courage to open her bathroom door and take the leap into the thing she wanted most with Jay, intimacy. Even though they were quite tipsy, she did not doubt for one second that this is something that she wanted, and now she knew he wanted the same.</p><p>Then she heard him as her eyes adjusted to the light and saw him. Snoring. Completely out cold.<br/>
She stood there for a second and then laughed. Laughter because they were so close. So, so close this time. Closer than ever to crossing that line. And here he was, Jay Halstead in all his glory, who was kissing her just moments ago and eager to move their party upstairs- completely passed out face down in her bed. He was a light sleeper, but when she crawled in next to him and he didn’t do his usual half-awake sigh and twitch, she knew there was no chance this was happening tonight. </p><p>She gently ran her hand over the back of his head before turning the lamp out on her bedside table. </p><p>One day Jay Halstead.</p><p>XX</p><p>The replay of events in her mind was speedy, her words trying to fill Jay in on the rest. Leaving out some of the more explicit parts, she wanted him to hopefully recall those on his own. They were way too hungover for that conversation right now. They spent a few minutes laughing at themselves, not realizing that Rojas had snuck in the doorway, silently watching them whisper at each other, and the huge belly laughs that followed. The flirtatious looks did not go unnoticed, and the fact that Jay was at least half naked. She could only see his top half, but it didn’t take her long, or being a police officer to notice that fact that his pants were on the floor next to Hailey’s bed either.</p><p>“Smells like tequila and bad decisions in here”, Rojas candidly announced her presence. </p><p>The two of them shot up, she had clearly surprised them. Jay looked like he immediately regretted the sudden movement, Hailey laughed at his expense.</p><p>He took his time gingerly laying himself back down to a more horizontal position.</p><p>“Ouch”, he pinched the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“You look like shit”, Vanessa told Jay.</p><p>“I feel like shit”, he replied with his eyes closed, turning on his side toward Hailey, who looked like she might even have a bit of a buzz still herself if Vanessa had to guess.</p><p>The two women chuckled.</p><p>“Hailey I think I’m getting sick my throat hurts, I feel achy”, Jay said quietly.</p><p>“Jay you’re not getting sick you are hungover and your throat hurts because you were smoking cigars with Adam and Kev last night”, she corrected him.  </p><p>“But I feel sick”, he pouted. </p><p>“I know”, she chuckled sympathetically, putting a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Can you feel my forehead I think I have a fever”, Jay asked ever so nicely, although he was being silly at this point, flashing her a wink.</p><p>She humoured him and placed the back of her hand on his forehead and cheeks. </p><p>“You do not have a fever, you have the whiskey and tequila sweats”, she laughed, Rojas joining her.</p><p>“Ughhhh”, he groaned.</p><p>“Jay, I thought you could handle your liquor?” Vanessa joked.</p><p>“Vanessa, I feel like death, please don’t talk so loud”, Jay was struggling, trying to laugh but on the inside actually felt terrible. </p><p>That made her laugh even more, Hailey couldn’t help herself either. It was pretty funny, she had ever seen Jay drink so much in her life. They did have quite the night.</p><p>“Hailey, why is Rojas so energetic right now? I vaguely remember you joining our after party too” Jay said out loud. </p><p>“Because she is young and hasn’t tipped past the “hangovers last for 2 days now” stage of her 20s. You and I…not so lucky”, Hailey elaborated, giving Rojas a look, whispering that Jay was way more of a light weight compared to her, she could still handle her own.</p><p>Vanessa winked back at Hailey, clearly asking her another question with her eyes. To which her roommate pursed her lips and grinned cheekily.</p><p>Rojas mouthed dropped, and as she was about to say something else, Jay suddenly shot up in bed again, eyes wide open this time, first looking at Vanessa then to Hailey.</p><p>“Vanessa you need to leave right now”, he said urgently.</p><p>“What, why?” She asked as if he were kidding.</p><p>“Because I am about to throw up and if you don’t you are going to see me completely naked”, Jay said very plainly, not really caring about the assumptions behind the last part. His focus right now was not throwing up in Hailey’s bed.</p><p>Hailey’s eyes went wide, and covered her mouth with her hand, trying to suppress her own laughter, and maybe a bit of embarrassment.</p><p>“I would do as he says V, can confirm that he has zero clothing on underneath this blanket”, she said seductively as she pretended to lift the covers and check herself.<br/>
Vanessa looked so stunned, she froze. She thought for sure they were kidding about this, but clearly, they were not.</p><p>She closed her eyes to let Jay get up and at least have time to put his underwear back on, she had no clue if Hailey closed her eyes for that part or not too.</p><p>By the time she opened them, he was just running past her, but she did get a quick glimpse of his body. </p><p>“Wow”, she mouthed to Hailey, giving her a thumbs up sign.</p><p>Hailey rolled her eyes as Vanessa approached her side of the bed, dying to find out the details of whatever it was that went down here last night.</p><p>“So?!” Vanessa asked.</p><p>“Circle of trust?” Hailey started slyly.</p><p>“Circle of trust”, Vanessa confirmed.</p><p>“Okay. Vanessa I’m freaking out”, Hailey whispered, voicing her inner feelings for once.</p><p>“What? Why?” She knew that having sleepovers with Jay was nothing out of the ordinary.</p><p>“Wait…Hailey…did you have slutty wedding sex?!” She asked a little louder.</p><p>“Vanessa shhh”, Hailey whispered motioning to her bathroom. </p><p>“Not exactly…”, Hailey grinned, and was about to whisper something when they heard Jay vomiting violently in the bathroom, instantly cringing.</p><p>“We are definitely going to circle back to this later”, Vanessa motioned to Hailey’s bed and went to go grab Jay some water from downstairs.</p><p>“Thanks V”, Hailey laughed, feeling a headache brewing herself, saved by Jay’s hangover to have to explain what happened last night.</p><p>By the time Vanessa came back upstairs armed with water, Advil and some chips for the two of them, Jay had made his way back to Hailey’s bed, hiding under her blankets.</p><p>Hailey’s eyes were closed too, one of her hands resting against Jay’s back.</p><p>She popped one eye open when she heard footsteps in her room.</p><p>“Advil, water and chips”, she whispered to Hailey who smiled, gave her a thumbs up and closed her eyes again.</p><p>She made her way over to Jay’s side of the bed, who did not look the best. </p><p>“How are you feeling Jay?” Vanessa asked sympathetically.</p><p>“Not good”, he replied from under the covers, unable to open his eyes.</p><p>She disappeared into the bathroom, coming out with a cool washcloth for him, setting it across his forehead. It was a whisper, but he mustered up a “Thanks V.” She liked that the two of them called her V, she had never had a nickname like that before. It made her feel special.</p><p>“Alright mom, dad, I’ll be downstairs if you need anything okay”, Vanessa said jokingly.</p><p>That even got a smile out of Jay, who managed to give her a thumbs up as well. </p><p>“We are the worst parents right now”, Jay mumbled quietly so that only Hailey heard, she giggled next to him. </p><p>Vanessa snuck out of Hailey’s room, and went back downstairs to make something for lunch. It’s happening, they’ve reached their turning point, she thought, unable to wipe the smile off of her face.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey resurfaced sometime around dinner, feeling a little more alive after a shower. Jay on the other hand, was still in the land of the dead.</p><p>“Jay is still not up?” Rojas laughed incredulously, Hailey following suit.</p><p>“He is struggling to say the least”, she replied. </p><p>“Wanna order pizza for dinner and then also discuss what happened last night?” Vanessa asked her roommate.</p><p>“Pizza yes. Last night….little fuzzy. But long story short we kissed and then went to bed. To sleep”, Hailey clarified as Vanessa’s mouth dropped.</p><p>“That’s all?” She pried.</p><p>“That’s all”, Hailey confirmed, her silence signalling that she wasn’t willing to elaborate at this point. Vanessa knew she would spill when she was ready, so she left it at that and respected her not wanting to share anything else.</p><p>After they ate Hailey snuck up to check on Jay who was still dead to the world.</p><p>“Jay”, Hailey went over to him, gently shaking his shoulder. No response.</p><p>She flipped on the lamp on her nightstand and saw the Gravol package and chuckled slightly. He must have been up and found that in the bathroom. He had been sick a few more times during the afternoon. She was sure he would be avoiding drinking for a while.</p><p>Then she realized there were double the amount of pills gone from the blister pack than there should be, silently freaking out. What if he wasn’t waking up because he took too much by accident? She kept trying to wake him up but it wasn’t working. Starting to get a bit nervous, she decided to text Will just in case.</p><p>Can you overdose on gravol? </p><p>Will responded within the minute. Why? </p><p>Asking for a friend…</p><p>Is your friend Jay Halstead? Lol. She could see Will laughing at her from his couch.</p><p>Maybe</p><p>How much did he take? Will responded.</p><p>Looks like double of what he should have…unsure how long ago. I was downstairs eating. I’ve been trying to wake him up but he’s completely out.</p><p>Between you and me, Jay used to take gravol a lot when he was back from his deployments to help him sleep… not ideal that he took double but he’ll be okay.</p><p>Hailey thought about that for a minute. Okay so I shouldn’t be nervous?</p><p>No he’s alright. Is he breathing?</p><p>Yes. She triple checked by putting a hand on his back, feeling it rise and fall normally.</p><p>Just leave him. All he can do is sleep it off now, looks like you might have him for another night. You guys had fun at Cruz’s wedding?</p><p>Little bit too much lol. Thanks Will! </p><p>No worries, talk to you later Hails</p><p>She felt comfortable enough hearing that from Will to leave Jay be and go back downstairs to hangout with Vanessa.<br/>
When it was time to head up to bed, she was quiet as Jay was still sleeping. She turned on her light to get ready and organize her stuff for work in the morning. They’ll have to get up earlier so they can make the stop to Jay’s for him to get new clothes. It would look pretty suspicious if he turned up to work in his wedding outfit. Stride of pride, she laughed.</p><p>She crawled underneath the covers in the dark, feeling the warmth of Jay’s body heat as soon as she got settled. </p><p>Jay twitched and came to slightly, groaning as he rolled over to be closer to her.</p><p>“You awake?” She asked quietly.</p><p>“Mmmm”, he grunted back.</p><p>Hailey laughed, “You know you’ve just spent probably 23 of 24 hours in bed today. You okay?”</p><p>“Sort of”, Jay took a minute to process how his hangover was going. </p><p>“You should have some water before you go back to sleep”, Hailey said.</p><p>Jay sat up and took a few big gulps of the water that was within arms reach on the nightstand. Immediately feeling a little better. His head hit the pillow again, and he reached a hand out to find Hailey, resting it on her forearm. </p><p>Her right hand came up to meet his hand that was grazing her left arm. Her thumb gently rubbing a small circle into his skin.</p><p>“Night Jay”, she whispered.</p><p>“Night Hails”, he replied sleepily. </p><p>There was silence for a second, but an unspoken energy in the room. Jay filled it.</p><p>“Hailey?” He said quietly.</p><p>“Yeah?” </p><p>“I’m going to kiss you again someday”, he said sweetly, sounding more awake than he had all day.</p><p>She smiled, from ear to ear. He hadn’t forgotten, and he really did share the same feelings as she did. “I might just kiss you back.” </p><p>XX</p><p>Their alarms went off way earlier than normal the next day, both of them groaning in realization that they had to go to work today. </p><p>“Come on, we have to get up”, Hailey poked at him, feeling better herself, but knowing Jay had a worse time than her yesterday and would likely have a worse time than her today.</p><p>“Alright, alright. I’m up”, his eyes opened and he sat up in bed. All of the talking about the important things like what this meant for them, had been put on hold because of the hangover of the century. </p><p>Jay was bold and brave last night telling her he wanted to kiss her again, so Hailey decided she was going to be bold and brave too. </p><p>“I’m going to have a shower”, she stated.</p><p>“Alright”, Jay replied, rubbing his eyes, trying to get his bearings.</p><p>Hailey got out of bed, and it didn’t take long for Jay to realize she wasn’t wearing any pyjama bottoms, just underwear.</p><p>“I’m going to have a shower….and I think you should join me”, she said seductively and spontaneously, staring at him with fire in her eyes, giving him a minute to process what she had just said.</p><p>Jay’s eyes popped open wide and his jaw dropped, it was rare that he was speechless. But this was one of those times.</p><p>Hailey turned away from him smirking as she knew her words just shocked him.</p><p>“Better think quick Halstead, that offer isn’t going to stand forever”, she yelled cheekily from her bathroom as she started the shower and made a point of throwing her clothes past the door frame so he could see that she was naked.</p><p>Jay’s brain had been fuzzy for the last 24 hours but this moment instantly cleared it. He got out of bed faster than he ever had before, eager to finish what they started, but hadn’t quite been able to finish, the night before.</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Showering together saves water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WARNING: This is going to get RACY ;) I’ve never done this before so hopefully you enjoy. First half of this chapter is definitely rated M.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 22</p><p>Jay’s mind was racing a mile a minute as he walked, ran practically, into Hailey’s bathroom. </p><p>He could vaguely make out her figure, already in the shower, covered by a veil of steam.</p><p>He cleared his throat and looked down, he was definitely ready to do this. Suddenly he felt a bit nervous. Now that they were sober, he had no doubt that he wanted this, and now he knew that she did too. Should they talk about this? How it would inevitably change things forever?</p><p>He opened the glass door to the shower, Hailey eyeing him up and down, her eyes filled with desire. He joined her in the shower, the two of them quiet for a minute, staring at one another’s naked bodies.</p><p>“Hailey…”, Jay could barely get out, he couldn’t take his eyes off her beautiful body.</p><p>“Jay”, Hailey replied cheekily, eyeing a big part of him too, biting the side of her lip in the process. </p><p>“Are you sure…”, Jay started.</p><p>“Don’t think Jay. For once in your life don’t over think this. I want this, I want you. And I know you want the same. We should just go for it”, she replied as she moved closer to him in her shower, her hands resting against his chest. He knew she could feel that he wanted this.</p><p>“I’ve wanted this for a long time Hails”, he whispered, cupping her cheek in his hand, using his other to gently trace her collarbone and brush her wet hair away from her face.</p><p>It was Hailey that made the first move this time, pulling his head towards hers, kissing him softly at first and then becoming more passionate as he reciprocated.</p><p>Then Jay began tracing her body with his tongue, making sure to thoroughly enjoy each spot. His fingers gently flicked her breasts, he alternated that with kissing the sweet spot on the crook of her neck. </p><p>His eyes lit up with surprise when he looked down to find her touching herself. </p><p>Fuck that was hot, he thought to himself. The second he saw her doing that, it made him want to skip the foreplay altogether and get right to it. But he wanted to do this right. They finally had the opportunity to do this, and he was going to tease and please her in every way he could imagine. </p><p>They warmed each other up in the shower for so long that the water eventually turned cold. </p><p>“Bed. Now”, Hailey murmured as she felt herself coming close to the edge.</p><p>Jay left the shower on, to hopefully drown out any noises they were about to make, and just in case they wanted to return to the steam later that morning. He picked Hailey up, as she straddled him in mid air. Her head quirked to the side, making the most intense eye contact with him as she also felt that he was very, very ready for this next part.</p><p>He threw her down on her bed, biting the corner of his lips as he watched Hailey do the same. </p><p>“Fuck Jay don’t stop”, she panted as he nibbled on the sensitive spot on her neck, his fingers taking their time exploring another sensitive spot of hers altogether. </p><p>He was enjoying this, Hailey was coming undone at his touch. He was taking his time pleasing her in all the ways and places she deserved. He could feel her pressure building, her hips arching to meet his fingers. He stopped abruptly, nearly sending Hailey into a tailspin. She gave him a look until she saw his head dip below, a fire burned behind her eyes. Jay explored her with his tongue at first, she was so wet. He went faster, and faster, in circles this time until he heard Hailey cry out his name. She was out of breath, taking a minute to ride out her orgasm. He curled up next to her in silence, until she turned over to him, grinning. </p><p>“Wow. Jay”, she moaned. </p><p>They made brief eye contact, and before he had time to recover Hailey had quickly flipped herself on top of him. </p><p>He looked pleased with himself. He was even happier when she quickly straddled him, watching his shocked face as she started touching herself again. It was only a few seconds later when she felt him quickly rise even higher beneath her, tilting her head at his response. </p><p>“Hailey”… he warned breathlessly. She looked down seeing how hard he was, her eyes wide with pleasure. She couldn’t help herself and moaned as she came again. That nearly set Jay over the edge. The familiar heat in the bottom of his belly continued to grow, he sat up as she slipped over him, and he entered her with ease. </p><p>“Mmmmm” she moaned in pleasure. He loved how she was so vocal in bed. Always in control, much like every other aspect of her life. <br/>“Your turn”, she said devilishly as she grabbed a hold of her headboard, riding him smoothly, like their bodies were always meant to fit together. </p><p>“Hailey”, it was his turn to pant, he knew he wasn’t going to hold out much longer. That’s when she stopped, taking a turn to tease him. </p><p>“I want you. In the shower- right now”, she whispered, and he quickly followed her into the bathroom. Not wasting any time pushing her up against the wall, taking control this time, letting the once again hot steam intensify the heat between them. He entered her from behind, he somehow already knew that was her sweet spot. She held on to the shelf in her marble shower, finding a rhythm with him behind her. As if she wasn’t already turned on, he reached down with his free hand and started stroking her again. </p><p>“Harder”, she squealed, as he pumped in and out, in and out until they were both about to climax. Jay was pleased with himself as he felt her tighten around him and release the pressure they had built up together. That made him finish in sync with her too. </p><p>“Uhhhh JAY!”  She screamed as she finished more intensely than she ever had before. She felt him release too, feeling his rapid heart beat, and pulse from his throbbing erection. </p><p>They took a few seconds to catch their breath, turning towards each other.</p><p>“That was….”, Jay started.</p><p>“Incredible”, Hailey finished.</p><p>“Worth the wait”, Jay acknowledged. </p><p>She nodded and agreed with his sentiments.</p><p>“I don’t know how I’m going to go to work today, sit across from you and not think about what just happened here”, Jay joked.</p><p>Hailey giggled. “I’ve been going to work pretty much everyday for a while now thinking that this is how we should be starting our mornings.”</p><p>“Oh”, Jay tiled his head, raising his eyebrow at her, loving her boldness. All the longing stares, the wishful thinking, had finally lead them here.</p><p>“We need to get ready for work though, for real”, Hailey said eyeing the time. </p><p>“Well, we’re already in the shower together so this is saving some time no?” Jay laughed.</p><p>“You’re right, two for one”, she chuckled as she started washing her hair. <br/>Jay reached down and helped rinse the shampoo out of her hair, as she rubbed body wash along his back. </p><p>She smiled, realizing that this was not awkward at all. That this felt so extremely normal to her, even though she just slept with her partner of three years.</p><p>They finished up getting ready for the day and made their way downstairs for breakfast. Rojas was sitting at the island, having a coffee and smirking.</p><p>“Morning”, she greeted them.</p><p>“Morning”, they smiled back, grabbing their own breakfast and coffee.</p><p>“Feeling better Jay?” Rojas asked.</p><p>“Much”, Jay stressed, taking a sip out of his mug and tossing a wink at Hailey while Vanessa wasn’t looking.</p><p>“Nothing a nice, long, hot shower can’t fix”, she winked right back at him, then turning her attention to Hailey, who had pursed her lips and had the slight hint of a blush in her cheeks.</p><p>“Exactly”, Jay replied after a few stunned seconds.</p><p>The three of them were getting ready to leave for work, Vanessa heading out the front door first. </p><p>“Do you think she knows”, Jay whispered to his partner.</p><p>Hailey shrugged her shoulders, “I think she’s always known”, and winked at him.</p><p>He nodded knowingly at that statement and headed towards his truck.</p><p>XX</p><p>The unit was recapping their weekends, sharing some laughs about what happened at the wedding, how hungover they all were on Sunday.</p><p>“I wasn’t that bad”, Jay sassed back at Vanessa calling him out. </p><p>The room went quiet, with everyone at their own place realizing that if Vanessa knew how hungover Jay was on Sunday that had to have meant that he slept at their house.</p><p>She cleared her throat, realizing her slip up, thankfully Voight wasn’t in yet.</p><p>Hailey snorted in laughter, rolling her eyes at Jay’s denial. <br/>“Upton? Care to add something?” Kevin asked.</p><p>“I have never seen Jay so sick before. And I took care of him after he was shot this year”, she replied chuckling, acknowledging the sleepover, and putting the final nail in Jay’s “I was totally fine” coffin. The rest of the units mouths, aside from Vanessa’s, practically dropped open.</p><p>Jay rolled his eyes at the group, muttering a whatever under his breath, laughing his way to the break room. Hailey followed behind him. </p><p>Ruzek, Burgess and Kevin silently gathered around Vanessa’s desk.</p><p>“Ok. They’ve had sex right?!” Ruzek blurted out.</p><p>“Oh, definitelyyy”, Vanessa quietly stressed, and the whole unit burst out laughing.</p><p>XX</p><p>What started out as an amazing day quickly turned south for Hailey and Jay. They were doing surveillance in a bar, trying to infiltrate a drug trafficking ring. </p><p>Hailey’s eyes went wide, and she could hear the stress in Vanessa’s voice over her earpiece when she looked across the bar and saw a familiar face.</p><p>No one else knew this, but she recognized Luis immediately. He was an old boyfriend of Vanessa’s, who she had met a few weeks ago when they ran into him in the grocery store. Vanessa had confessed that she still saw Luis here and there, they had a long complicated history. But he also didn’t know that she was a cop. They needed to keep it that way.</p><p>Hailey feared that if Luis saw her, that he would call her by her real name, not Kelly, and that would ruin this entire undercover.</p><p>Jay saw her panicking, not really sure what was going on.</p><p>“What is it”, he whispered quietly.</p><p>“Kiss me”, Hailey blurted out in a last ditch effort as she saw Luis closing in on them. He was seconds away from seeing her.</p><p>“What”, Jay’s eyes went wide, he knew there must be a good reason for this. Hailey would never say that, knowing that they were being watched by their entire unit. He trusted her, so he did it.</p><p>He pulled her in for a long kiss, his mind immediately heading back to their morning in her shower. There was a normalcy to this now. </p><p>Kevin watched on from the bar, his mouth hanging open before he quickly regrouped and tried not to draw attention to them. Clearly this was happening for a reason, he just didn’t know why exactly. But he would definitely be asking them about this immediately after, and how natural it seemed.</p><p>Burgess, Vanessa and Voight were sitting in an undercover van a few blocks away from the club, hearing and seeing their kiss in real time.</p><p>The three of them were just as stunned. Well Vanessa pretended to be stunned just to fit in with Burgess and Voight. Realistically she knew they had done this before and more in real life, but that wasn’t a super important detail at the moment.</p><p>“That guy that just walked past Hailey knows who she is, she did this to not blow their cover. I’m sure of it”, Vanessa explained, trying to avoid sharing why Hailey knew this guy and why he was hanging around with people they were looking at for drug trafficking.</p><p>“Hmm”, Voight nodded quietly. </p><p>Burgess and Vanessa studied his face, waiting to see what his reaction would be.</p><p>“Burgess, what’s your take on that move?” He asked.</p><p>“Well… I think Halstead and Upton are professionals. And if that’s what they had to do to get out of the situation and protect their cover, I think it was the right move”, she rambled a bit, nervously.</p><p>Surprisingly, Hank chuckled. “You’re right, that’s one way to do it. And something tells me they’ve used that move before. In other operations perhaps”, he replied intentionally vague and knowingly at the same time.</p><p>Burgess and Rojas’ eyes went wide and just stared at each other, quickly trying to avoid eye contact with their boss, unsure how they should respond to that one.</p><p>“Mhmm, yes maybe, I don’t know”, Vanessa stammered. Voight secretly enjoying how uncomfortable the two of them looked, so obviously trying to cover for their friends.</p><p>“Right, well let’s get back to the office for tonight and make a plan”, he said. The two women grateful he was dropping this conversation for now.</p><p>XX</p><p>The next few days were hell. Vanessa and Hailey had it out after Hailey realized that her young roommate deleted footage of Luis off their wire and video surveillance.</p><p>“Vanessa, that’s obstruction, you could go to JAIL”, she yelled.<br/>“I know, I know okay. I panicked! Luis has a history, but I refuse to believe he’s involved in this. He’s been trying to turn his life around. I owe him everything”, she tried to explain to Hailey.</p><p>Their conversation was cut short by Ruzek walking in and telling the unit they had something on Gael, the head of the drug ring.</p><p>“We’re going to talk about this later”, Hailey whispered at Rojas. Jay eyed them across the room, sensing that something was up with the pair.</p><p>Jay tried to talk to Hailey about it later but she kept brushing him off. He wanted to come over that night but Hailey said she needed to spend time with Vanessa, that she was dealing with a few things, so Jay respected that.</p><p>What Jay didn’t know is that Voight had actually paid them a visit. Voight came over to question Vanessa, also seeing the holes in her story of how she knew Luis and how much she knew about his involvement in all of this. </p><p>Hailey was sitting on the staircase and could hear a teary Rojas come clean to Voight about everything. He was rightfully angry, and as he left he caught her sitting on the stairs.</p><p>“I’m going to pretend you didn’t know anything about that”, Voight questioned her.</p><p>“I knew some, not all”, Hailey confessed. “I wanted to protect her, I thought that’s what you would do”, she said surprisingly coldly.</p><p>Voight looked up at her like he was going to explode, but kept his cool. </p><p>He shook his finger at her, “That’s my job. NOT yours”, and he left their house. </p><p>A part of Hailey thought she would feel scared after that encounter with Voight, but she didn’t. She didn’t feel anything at all.</p><p>XX</p><p>The last few days had been hectic with this case. They went from arresting to Luis, to trying to work with him to bust Gael, to being played by Gael himself after finding an associate shot dead in his car who they were going to do a buy with. This case was slipping away from them, and fast.</p><p>It was all too much, Hailey could see the toll this was taking on Vanessa. Heard the emotion, the begging in her voice as she talked to Luis in the holding cell. Trying to get him to understand, but he was angry, hurt, heartbroken. That Vanessa would keep this from him. Tears welled up in Hailey’s eyes as she heard her say that Luis was the only family she had all these years, that she never felt like she belonged. Betraying him must have killed her. Hailey vowed to change that, show Vanessa that she did have people in her corner. It was in that moment that she knew what she had to do.</p><p>XX</p><p>Jay could see Hailey spiralling with this case. He knew that Vanessa meant so much to her and that she would do anything to protect her. But that worried him, Hailey had been a bit more loose on crossing lines since losing her CI Cameron earlier this year. He thought she had reigned herself in, but after what he suspected she did tonight…. He refused to believe she would put her whole career in jeopardy like this. He was angry. </p><p>He heard the call come in on the radio. Gael had been stopped by patrol for a traffic violation or something bogus, with them finding two bricks of cocaine in a trap in his trunk, and he just knew. Deep down in his gut, seeing Hailey take Luis down to the cage. Her behaviour just after. He knew her well enough and the slippery slope that she had been on to predict what she did tonight. He was furious, but tried to see it from her perspective. She had stuck by him through some seriously questionable decisions also, so he was going to do the same for her.</p><p>He waited about an hour before trying to contact her, he was sure she was tying up loose ends of the case. He called and called, getting anxious that it was so late and she wasn’t returning any of his messages, when finally one came through.</p><p>At the district still, just talked to Voight. Can you meet me at my house?</p><p>He replied yes and sped over there as fast as he could, hoping for the best. Little did he know, the worst was to come.</p><p>XX</p><p>She was silent getting out of her car, seeing Jay parked across the street sitting in his truck waiting for her and her heart sank into her stomach. She made the decision to do what she did tonight, and ultimately she had no regrets. Gael was behind bars, Luis was going to get the deal he was promised for cooperating. But what she didn’t consider was how her actions were going to affect her partnership, her place in the unit, and most importantly things with Jay. When Voight told, rather screamed, at her tonight in his office, she didn’t flinch. But on the way home, the news that she was going to New York for a while was really beginning to sink in. New York of all places, this was going to crush Jay. After they finally got together. They weren’t going to have a chance at being a normal couple for who knows how long now. And it was all her fault.</p><p>She sighed, dreading at what she was about to tell him. </p><p>He sat down nervously in her kitchen, Rojas wasn’t home yet.</p><p>“You’re going where?” He looked white as a ghost after she explained what happened.<br/>“I’m going to New York for a few weeks. This isn’t permanent Jay. It’s just temporary”, she reassured him.</p><p>She was expecting a bigger reaction, but it didn’t come. He just sort of stared blankly at her and nodded. “Okay.”</p><p>“Are you mad?” She asked quietly.</p><p>He sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe you did this Hailey.”</p><p>Somehow that felt worse, the calm, quiet admission of how he was feeling. No yelling, no anger. Just hurt.</p><p>She chewed her lip nervously, “I had to Jay. It was Vanessa. I had to. I hoped that you of all people would understand that.”</p><p>“Hailey, me of all people? You know how many stupid things I’ve done, and how many times have you cussed me out for that? I mean rightfully so. But still, that’s not fair. Look at how those decisions landed me in trouble, serious trouble”, he said pointing to the scar on his shoulder from the bullet wound a few months back.</p><p>“I know. I’m sorry. I just snapped. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t want to go but I have to. I don’t know what we are right now, if this, motioning between them, is just sex…or…”</p><p>That set him off.</p><p>“This isn’t just sex for me!” He yelled. </p><p>She paused waiting for the but, expecting it because she could never catch a relationship break, things with Jay were not going to be easy. She just made things way harder by her actions tonight. She wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to put things on the back burner for now. But instead, he surprised her.</p><p>“I love you Hailey”, he admitted. That’s when she knew. As soon as those words slipped out of his mouth, the same words that she instantly said back to him, she knew that packing her bags tonight was going to be the most painful thing she’s ever done.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope this got everyones heart racing! Sorry for the long delay, I've been dealing with some things in my personal life as of late (all good, but just needed to take a break). I'm hoping this chapter lived up to the anticipation! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback on my last chapter, I really look forward to hearing from all of you and it's always so amazing to me how many people love this story and my writing. Truly humbling! I will try to update this more frequently on a weekly basis :) Stay safe and well wherever you are in the world! - K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. New York City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 23</p><p>They sat on the floor of her bedroom for a while, talking about what all of this really meant for them.</p><p>"It's only a few weeks Jay", Hailey gently reminded him.</p><p>"I know. It just sucks", he admitted.</p><p>"I know. I don't want to go. But I have to. I got myself into this mess, and if this is what it's going to take to earn Voight's trust back then so be it", Hailey replied.</p><p>Jay nodded and picked himself off the floor. "Okay, so your flight leaves in…. he looks down to check his watch…6 hours. You need to start packing."</p><p>Hailey smirked, "I've always been more of a last minute gal anyways. Keeps things interesting."</p><p>"What are you saying?" Jay's eyebrow tilted upwards.</p><p>"I'm saying that I have some time still to be distracted", Hailey said seductively as she began peeling off some of her clothes.</p><p>"Oh", Jay nodded and chewed his bottom lip, as he helped her with the rest as she straddled his lap.</p><p>About an hour later, Hailey was back sitting on her floor folding clothes and putting them into her suitcase, only this time in Jay's maroon t shirt.</p><p>He couldn't stop looking at her, she was finally his. The fact that she looked so good in his t-shirt, the way it hung loosely off her frame, was incredibly sexy.</p><p>"What?" She looked up at him on her bed, he was sitting against her headboard, shirtless.</p><p>"You look really good in my shirt", he smiled as he watched her blush.</p><p>"Shut up", she rolled her eyes playfully. She watched as he stifled a yawn.</p><p>"Go to bed Jay. I'm going to be up for a while", she told him.</p><p>He nodded slowly, his eyes heavy. He wiggled down so that his head was on her pillow.</p><p>"You comfortable?" She asked.</p><p>"Mhmm, this is my side of the bed", he smiled with his eyes closed.</p><p>"Your side of the bed huh?" She inquired, he could hear the teasing in her voice.</p><p>"Don't act like you don't have a side in my bed either. You always go left, closest to the door. Which bothers me a little because if someone were to break in I would want to be ahead of you, but I usually sleep right anyways, so figured I'd claim it here too", he explained.</p><p>She snorted at his reasoning, so observant Jay Halstead was.</p><p>"Well if you insist. I suppose that can be your side", she got up off the floor to tuck him in. He flinched at her coming up behind him, but relaxed when he realized it was only to pull the blankets over his shoulders. She put a hand on his warm back, and kissed him on the side of the forehead. He reached up to grab her hand with his.</p><p>"Close your eyes okay", she whispered and he obliged, slipping into a deep sleep soon after.</p><p>Hailey crawled into bed about an hour later, trying hard not to wake her sleeping partner. But inevitably, Jay flinched the second the mattress dipped under Hailey's body.</p><p>She thought she heard a small gasp as if she startled him so she reached over to calm him down.</p><p>"It's just me, it's okay", she whispered as she ran her hand up and down his bicep.</p><p>"Mmm", he mumbled sleepily.</p><p>"What time is it? Do we need to go to the airport?" He suddenly asked frantically.</p><p>"It's 3 in the morning, we still have time go back to sleep", Hailey reassured him. Of all the things Jay was, she was not anticipating him being one of those people who needed to get to the airport hours and hours in advance of their flight.</p><p>"Oh. Okay", he said calmly and she could hear how tired he was in his voice.</p><p>"Hey Jay?" Hailey whispered in the dark.</p><p>"Mmm", he grumbled back.</p><p>"When you said you loved me, did you really mean it?" She asked quietly.</p><p>She heard him shift closer towards her and grabbed her hand under the covers.</p><p>"I really meant it Hails", he replied more awake this time.</p><p>"Okay, me too", she said sounding more confident this time.</p><p>"We'll figure it out when you get back", he replied, answering her unspoken question.</p><p>She squeezed his hand three times and smiled at him, they were able to faintly recognize each others faces in the darkness.</p><p>He leaned over, kissed her on the forehead and fell back asleep pretty quickly.</p><p>6 am rolled around before they knew it, Hailey woke up feeling anxious and still half asleep. This was Jay's time to shine though, he was up and dressed and had made her a coffee all while she was still trying to peel herself out of bed.</p><p>Vanessa had come home late and Hailey had texted her explaining what had happened. So before leaving for the airport she snuck into her room to see her one last time.</p><p>The two women shared a quiet moment, Vanessa dreading that Hailey was leaving, especially since she felt like it was her fault, to which the detective assured her it was not.</p><p>"I'll be back in a few weeks V, take care of the house for me. And Jay too okay?" Hailey whispered as she pulled her roommate in for a hug.</p><p>Vanessa wasn't exactly sure what that last part meant. "Jay?" She mumbled sleepily.</p><p>Hailey smiled, "He doesn't do well with change… I don't want him to spiral again."</p><p>She didn't really need to elaborate further, Vanessa understood. "Safe flight Hails", she yawned and went back to bed.</p><p>Jay threw Hailey's suitcase into the back of his truck and drove to O'Hare silently, watching her stare out the window out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>"New York is going to be great Hails. Not so great pizza, but the bagels make up for it"….he smirked as he saw her mouth curl up into a grin.</p><p>"I'll keep that in mind", she said as he pulled the truck to a stop.</p><p>They were quiet for a minute, unsure how to say good-bye to each other.</p><p>Jay got out, helped her with her bags and stood awkwardly at departures with his hands in his pockets. Before he could say anything else, Hailey wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her cheek into his chest. She wasn't usually an emotional person, but he could feel the weight of this as he hugged her back.</p><p>"I'll see you in a few weeks", he managed to get out, stroking the back of her head, pausing to smell her lavender shampoo one more time.</p><p>She looked up at him and smiled. "Only a few weeks."</p><p>He leaned down to kiss her, and she didn't pull away.</p><p>After parting ways, the smile on her face was even bigger. "You know we're going to have to tell everyone when I get back", she smirked.</p><p>"I know. But I kinda like this being a secret for now, our little secret", Jay replied back.</p><p>"Me too. Plus it will be even funnier to see their faces when we tell them we've been together for a while", she agreed and Jay laughed at that.</p><p>Hailey groaned as she checked her watch, "I really need to get going now."</p><p>Jay made his final good-byes and watched Hailey walk into the terminal before pulling away in his truck. He kept repeating to himself, "It's only a few weeks", to remind him that she wasn't leaving for good and so that his mind wouldn't play his usual tricks on him.</p><p>Hailey made it through security and sat down with a coffee as she waited to board her flight. She kept thinking about how Jay told her he loved her, how she loved him back. What did it all mean? Were they really going to do this? Maybe he was just saying that because she was leaving? Her mind was racing with all of these thoughts, and almost on cue her phone buzzed. Jay always had a way of reading her mind.</p><p>Check your left pocket, I meant every word.</p><p>Hailey smiled as she reached into her coat pocket, he must have snuck something in there.</p><p>Her heart was racing as she pulled out his dog tags and a small note. His messy handwriting always made her laugh, and his words made her blush.</p><p>I'd follow you blind, through good and bad, anywhere. And if it were up to me I'd follow you to New York. But since I can't- these kept me safe overseas, they'll keep you safe while you're away too.. Have a great time, you're going to kill it. Chicago over everything though – J</p><p>Jay Halstead always kept her on her toes.</p><p>Walking into the district without Hailey felt strange to him, but he was trying to put on a brave face. Voight answered the questions from the rest of the unit, like Jay, they were also surprised by Hailey's sudden departure.</p><p>"This is a good opportunity for her, figured she could benefit from a change of scenery for a few weeks", he elaborated without saying too much. But he looked directly at Jay when he said that, and Jay nodded, signalling that he knew and he understood.</p><p>The day went on as normal, Jay was yawning by the time 5 o'clock rolled around, he had a late night. Rojas, Kim and Kevin asked him to go to Molly's for a few drinks, and he was sure they wanted to ask what reallyhappened with Hailey. But he turned them down, saying that he needed an early night. Adam said that he had his own plans, and the unit parted ways for the day.</p><p>Jay was dead asleep when his phone started ringing off the hook around midnight. He groggily answered, "Halstead."</p><p>"Jay, need you at a crime scene. Ruzek was in a car accident tonight, chasing after someone who kidnapped a young woman", the familiar gruff voice on the other end explained.</p><p>Now he was wide awake. "Ruz okay?" Jay asked concerned.</p><p>"He is, few bumps and bruises, but he'll be alright. He can't drive right now though, so he needs a ride back to the station with you", Voight replied, adding on the location and hanging up as fast as he called.</p><p>Jay quickly pulled himself out of bed, got dressed and ran out the door. He met the team at the scene about 20 minutes later, walking up to find Ruzek still sitting in the back of the ambulance.</p><p>"You alright man?" Jay asked, putting his hand on his shoulder, giving him a once over, quickly realizing that Voight had underestimated the few cuts and bruises thing, Adam looked like shit.</p><p>"Ya I'm okay", Ruzek nodded slowly, looking a little dazed, steri strips holding a gash on his forehead together.</p><p>Jay was looking around, seeing the rest of the unit asking a few witnesses some questions and cleaning up the perimeter.</p><p>"What happened?" Jay asked, eyeing Kim, who he was surprised to see was not by Adam's side.</p><p>"Was on a date, left, saw a girl get snatched by this guy in an SUV. So I borrowed this couples car and tried to chase him down. Didn't exactly work out the way I planned", Ruzek explained.</p><p>"A date?" Jay raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"That's all you took from that man, really", he replied sarcastically, giving Jay a small laugh. Which he immediately regretted, holding the side of his temple to make the pressure go away.</p><p>"Alright, easy. Do you need a hospital?" Jay asked cautiously, knowing Adam was just like him and liked to downplay injuries.</p><p>"Maybe", he grunted before taking a deep breath to mask the pain.</p><p>Voight walked up before Jay had a chance to tell Adam they should go immediately then, him admitting that he needed to be checked out was a red flag to Jay.</p><p>He had a few words with Adam, Jay hung back and waited before whispering to Voight that he was going to take Adam to Med.</p><p>"Probably a good idea, and Jay, try to avoid a tox screen", he said quietly.</p><p>Jay nodded, knowing that Adam was not impaired even though he likely had a beer or two, but him being involved in an accident would set off the red flags and any amount in his system would not look good.</p><p>"I'll call Will, he's probably going to need some stitches on his forehead anyways", Jay replied.</p><p>The two parted ways, Jay moving back to the ambulance to walk Adam back to his truck. Adam got in gingerly, and was quiet most of the way to Med.</p><p>"Heard from Upton?" Ruzek asked innocently.</p><p>Jay's lips curled into a smile, "Ya earlier, said she had a good first day."</p><p>"That's good. FBI life huh, you better watch they don't steal another one of your girls", he chuckled.</p><p>Jay tensed up after that and had to bite his tongue before he got sassy with him.</p><p>"Sorry man I didn't mean it like that", Adam back tracked, knowing how much that hurt Jay.</p><p>Instead Jay shook it off, "It's alright. It's not a permanent thing."</p><p>"So…. You and Hailey though?" Adam treaded lightly.</p><p>There was no sense in keeping it a huge secret, and it's not like the rest of the team didn't suspect anyways. So Jay gave Adam a little bit to work with.</p><p>He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I don't really know what we are yet", he said intentionally vaguely.</p><p>"Other than soulmates?" Adam replied awfully quick.</p><p>Jay couldn't help but let out a big laugh. "Ya something like that."</p><p>Luckily for him, they had pulled up to the emergency department at Med by then, Will saving the day.</p><p>"Hey man", Will greeted Adam, watching him get out of Jay's truck a little woozy.</p><p>"Hey Will, thanks for doing this", Adam replied, Jay nodding in agreement and to say hello to his brother.</p><p>"I'll wait out here okay", Jay yelled to Adam and Will, knowing his aversion to hospitals so they let him be.</p><p>Adam walked back out to Jay's truck a while later, with a couple fresh stitches on his forehead and the all clear from a concussion.</p><p>"Are you lying about that part or?" Jay asked candidly, knowing how Adam's brain works, similar to his own in that sense.</p><p>"No, for real. Will wrote me a note just in case you or Voight didn't believe me", Adam grinned.</p><p>"Okay, okay. I believe you. Just let someone know if you aren't feeling well later on, for real", Jay said sternly.</p><p>"Yes sir", Adam mocked, gaining an eye roll from Jay.</p><p>"Well I take it that Kim won't be keeping an eye on you tonight, so just trying to be the responsible one here", Jay replied.</p><p>Adam's turn for an eye roll, "Ya I don't know what's going on there. Man, I love Kim, always have. Then this year happened, the baby…Things have just been complicated since then. We're trying to work through it in our own ways", he said sadly.</p><p>Not realizing he had touched that kind of nerve, Jay felt sad for his friends, and a bit guilty for bringing it up again. Breaking the silence he replied to Adam, "Something my mom used to always say is what's for you, won't go by you."</p><p>Adam looked confused in the passenger seat. "Could be the pounding headache I have right now, but not really sure how that applies to this situation."</p><p>Jay chuckled. "I think you and Kim have found each other, and no matter the past and the ups and downs that you've gone through, you guys are meant to be. It'll all work out."</p><p>"Wow, Upton's really got you on your romantic bullshit huh", Adam laughed as Jay punched his arm.</p><p>"If you tell anyone I believe in fate I'll kill you", Jay said seriously enough that Adam had to double take for a second before he realized he was joking, sort of.</p><p>"I think this conversation stays in the truck in general", Adam nodded in understanding, heading into the station with Jay, knowing they were in for a long night.</p><p>Jay kept thinking about that the rest of the night and over the next few days, the concept of fate. How things were supposed to happen, even the bad stuff. How the people you met in your life and crossed paths with was always for a purpose. So much so, that it had stirred up some negative thoughts about his past. The last few nights had been sleepless and he was really trying to keep it together long enough for the weekend so that he could catch up on some rest. He was already on his second coffee and it was only 8 am.</p><p>Platt flagged him down as he walked into the district.</p><p>"Jay, I've been holding onto mail for Upton. Not that I've snooped, but some of these look like court subpoenas, so…", Trudy informed him.</p><p>"Ahhh, okay, I'll look after these for her until she's back", he said tiredly.</p><p>"If she comes back", Trudy snorted.</p><p>That caused Jay to snap his head up, "What do you mean", he asked.</p><p>"FBI has a way of keeping people they like, pay well, you get to wear nice suits", Trudy reasoned, trying to see what buttons she could push. It was too easy.</p><p>"Well, Hailey doesn't like nice suits", Jay replied, that's all that he could think of as a reply.</p><p>"You miss her don't you?" Trudy leaned in and whispered with a grin on her face.</p><p>Jay's eyes twinkled when she said that, "Of course I miss her, she's my partner."</p><p>"Mhmm, I bet", Trudy winked and motioned for him to get upstairs to work.</p><p>He grudgingly walked up the stairs, the tiredness almost overwhelming him, putting on a brave face and smiling at his coworkers as he walked past their desks.</p><p>It had only been four days that Hailey was gone, but to Jay it felt like an eternity. They had spoken every night, but they were both busy during the day so it was hard to catch up. He missed staring across his desk and seeing her face. He was fidgety and restless and no doubt a bit irritable. He sat at his desk until lunch, staring at his computer, trying to make sense of the files in front of him. He couldn't stop thinking about what Platt had said, if she comes back. The self-doubt was creeping in, even though Hailey had reassured him on countless occasions that she was coming back.</p><p>Rojas had to shake him out of his trance as she was trying to update him on the kidnapping case.</p><p>"Halstead?!" She said with a little force.</p><p>"Huh", he finally acknowledged her.</p><p>"I said we are needed at the scene, Voight said bring your rifle", she looked at him sort of worried. He looked like a zombie.</p><p>"Right, okay", Jay said as he collected his thoughts and tried to get into his sniper head space.</p><p>Rojas sat in his truck waiting for him as he geared up. When he finally got in, she decided she was going to confront him.</p><p>"Are you okay man? For real", she asked, nervous for his response.</p><p>Sure enough, Jay was defensive. "Ya, why wouldn't I be?" He said with some attitude.</p><p>"You look like you haven't slept since Hailey left, and you've had 4 coffees. It's only noon. And you're about to go shoot a gun", the young officer replied.</p><p>Jay was surprised at her observations, he thought he was doing an okay job of keeping the lack of sleep under wraps. He had been in way worse shape than this before and still no one had noticed, it had even taken Hailey the better part of a month to finally catch on and call him out.</p><p>"I'm tired. But I'm okay, I promise", Jay smiled lightly at her, knowing she was just asking out of concern and not to be nosey.</p><p>"Alright, well let me know if you need anything", Vanessa said.</p><p>"Thanks V", Jay said quietly as they pulled up to the scene and he hopped out to do his thing.</p><p>Hailey was sitting at her new desk in New York, hopped up on adrenaline herself after just being shot at with her new partner OA. She felt her phone buzz, expecting it to be Jay. She wasn't sure if she was going to tell him about getting shot at yet, she absentmindedly ran her fingers over his thumbprint on the back of his dog tags hidden in her pocket. Keeping me safe, she thought.</p><p>She reached over and pulled out her phone, seeing a text from Vanessa.</p><p>Hi roomie. Miss you, hope things are going well in New York. Jay is like a lost puppy without you.</p><p>Hailey smirked, Miss you too, try to keep him in line for me.</p><p>She thought that was a bit random, midday for her to send that, but maybe she was just over thinking things. She had spoken with Jay last night and he seemed fine, filled her in on Adam's accident and what she had been missing in Chicago, their conversation had even taken a bit of a sexual turn.</p><p>Hailey had to drop her thoughts and rush back out into the field with OA anyways, so she didn't have much time to think about the Midwest, even though she desperately wanted to.</p><p>Jay sat at a bar table with the rest of the team later that evening. He finally agreed to go to Molly's with everyone, it was Friday after all. He didn't have an excuse not to really. He was physically there, but mentally thinking of Hailey, New York, and everything in between. She told him she was shot at today, but was fine. Saved her new partners ass. He believed her, but it bugged him that she was in danger, and there was nothing he could do about it. If anything happened to her….he was spiralling in his head he knew that. It was ridiculous, Hailey could handle her own, plus she was partnered with another Army Ranger, he would protect her. But it had only been a few days and she was already involved in a shooting. This was going to be a long few weeks. Kim saw him yawn a few times, and nudged him discreetly under the table.</p><p>"You getting sick Jay? You look beat" She asked, it was just her and Vanessa at the table. Adam and Kevin had gone up to the bar to grab another round of drinks.</p><p>"Hmm? Oh, no I'm good, just tired. Long week", he said as he took another swig.</p><p>Kim and Vanessa clearly didn't buy what he was selling, but they let it go and carried on with their night as the next round of drinks made their way to the table.</p><p>Rojas kept staring at him out of the corner of her eye. He definitely did not look great. He was overtired she could tell that much. So she decided to do something a little spontaneous, she wasn't sure how he was going to take it.</p><p>As they were all getting ready to head home, she gently put a hand on his back, feeling the tension in his muscles.</p><p>He looked at her confused.</p><p>"Do you trust me?" She asked.</p><p>He looked at her sceptically, "Yes?"</p><p>"Okay. Come home with me", she blurted out, realizing it sounded stranger out loud than in her head.</p><p>His eyes just about bulged out of his head, but before he could reply she clarified.</p><p>"You need sleep Jay. Come and sleep in Hailey's bed. I will give you all the privacy in the world. It might help", she added, not knowing much about Jay's past. But enough that she knew a lack of sleep was definitely not good for him, nor did it mean good things were happening in that head of his.</p><p>Vanessa thought he was going to immediately turn that idea down, strictly out of pride. But she saw him think about it, it gave her some hope she would win this battle.</p><p>"We don't have to tell Hailey if you don't want", she added.</p><p>Jay smiled bashfully, and hesitated.</p><p>"Okay", he quietly agreed. That surprised her.</p><p>"Okay", she smiled, regrouped and motioned for him to follow her home.</p><p>Jay wasn't at Hailey's place long before he said good night to Vanessa, went upstairs, got undressed and crawled into her bed. It felt strange in here without her.</p><p>He was out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, hoping that his mind would allow his body to get some rest. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Rojas.</p><p>He fell into a deep, comfortable sleep, the sheets smelled like Hailey, and that helped.</p><p>Until it didn't.</p><p>Vanessa woke up in the middle of the night in a panic, hearing Jay's strangled screams from across the hall, and so did the person next to her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So who do we think is in bed with Vanessa?! Haha. Thank you for all the amazing comments and messages on this story! I love reading them. Sorry I have been bad at updating, I've been up north on a dock and in a lake for the last little while (safely quarantining with family). I hope everyone out there is doing well, I know times have been tough these last few months. Sending all of you love. Wishing all my fellow Canadians a Happy Belated Canada Day, and to my American friends- Happy Fourth! – K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Lake Michigan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 24</p><p>“What is that?” Kevin shot up, about ready to grab his gun at the foot of the bed.</p><p>“Shh, I think that’s just Jay”, Vanessa whispered. </p><p>“Halstead? Why is Halstead here? Hailey isn’t back is she?” Kevin asked, confused as to why Jay would be in her bed.</p><p>“No, she isn’t. I don’t think he’s been sleeping at all this week”, she replied.</p><p>“Hmm gotcha. Do you think he’s having an episode?” Kevin asked, uncharacteristically nervous.</p><p>She nodded, not really knowing what to do. “Should I go wake him up?” </p><p>He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Ruz told me he tried that once while he was asleep on the break room couch and it did not go well”, Kevin mimicked a punch to the face.</p><p>Vanessa chewed her lip, she couldn’t just ignore it though, could she? Kevin saw her weighing out the pro’s and con’s in her head. </p><p>“You better go check on him. It sounds like he’s crying now”, Kevin said sympathetically, it was drowned out by Jay’s yelling and whimpering.</p><p>“Ya, you’re right. Listen, just stay in here alright? He doesn’t know about us. Plus I don’t want him to freak out if he knows you’re here too”, she reasoned. Kevin nodded understandingly.</p><p>Vanessa tip toed across the hallway to Hailey’s bedroom, cracking the door open slowly. Jay was still fast asleep, but clutching the pillow so hard that his knuckles were white. Her heart dropped when she saw a small tear escape and roll down his cheek. He was mumbling something that she couldn’t make out, but he sounded scared.</p><p>She froze for a minute, just watching him. Growing up, she had lived in a lot of foster homes with a lot of different kids. Some of those kids had not been treated very well, they used to have nightmares like this all of the time. Vanessa knew that was not the case with Jay, his military past likely bringing this on. But still, she recognized some PTSD when she saw it, and she felt for him, she really did. He must do a lot of inner work to keep these things at bay during his everyday life. She had never seen him slip up once at work, even all the times he’s slept over here. It was likely the lack of sleep messing with him, maybe feeling anxious without Hailey. She considered calling her for a second, but didn’t want to scare her, or have to explain why she brought Jay home with her from the bar. It would only worry her more. She would have to get him through this one on her own. If he did get violent, she would call for Kevin, but otherwise, it was just her.<br/>“Jay?” She called out softly.</p><p>He was still whimpering, his eyes forcefully squinted shut.</p><p>“Jay?” She said quietly again. She made sure to stand by the foot of the bed, not within arms reach of him.</p><p>She lightly rested her hand on his foot, and held her breath. He didn’t lash out so she moved closer until she was at the side of the bed and she was sure he was awake.</p><p>“Hey”, she said cautiously, as he opened his eyes more and became aware of his surroundings.</p><p>“Hey”, he replied back hoarsely, clearing his throat. He was staring at her with a strange look in his eye, almost like embarrassment.</p><p>“It’s alright. You had a bad dream”, Vanessa said, kneeling down next to him, slowly putting a hand on his back.</p><p>He flinched at first, and she took her hand away, before he immediately took a deep breath and apologized.</p><p>“Sorry, can you…can you leave your hand there?” Jay asked so quietly, so gently, it made Vanessa’s heart hurt. That he just needed some human contact.</p><p>“Of course, you’re okay. Just take some deep breaths”, she reassured him, seeing him in this scared, almost child-like state was foreign to her. She didn’t really know what to do, but sitting here with him seemed to be helping with calming him down. </p><p>She could feel his heart racing under his hand, every once in a while she would rub his back. So she took a few deep breaths with him, trying to help him find a rhythm.</p><p>“Is this okay?” She asked, he nodded back, trying to ground himself. </p><p>“This is what Hailey usually does too”, he replied back a few minutes later, able to get his words out more clearly by then.</p><p>Vanessa smiled at the fact that Jay was thinking about Hailey right now. “Okay. Do you want to call her?” </p><p>Jay’s eyes shot her direction again, “No, it’s okay. I don’t want to bother her, it’s even later there.”</p><p>“Alright, although I’m sure she wouldn’t mind”, Vanessa persisted. He was much calmer now, but she wasn’t sure if this was going to happen again.<br/>Jay attempted a smile. “I’ll call her in the morning. I’m just really tired. This honestly doesn’t happen that much anymore.”</p><p>Vanessa shrugged, “This doesn’t matter to me Jay. You don’t need to explain, really.”</p><p>His nod and his silence spoke volumes, he just continued to lie there, catching his breath. Vanessa continued to sit on the floor of Hailey’s room next to him, keeping him company.</p><p>Jay nodded his head, “Thanks Vanessa. I’m okay now”, he replied, taking a deep breath and moving from lying on his back to his side.</p><p>Vanessa pushed herself off the floor and gently tapped his shoulder with her hand. “I’m right across the hall if you need anything okay?”</p><p>Jay yawned, “Okay. Get back to bed with Kevin”, he said nonchalantly.</p><p>Vanessa’s mouth dropped open, and Jay let out a laugh as she stared at him stunned.</p><p>“I am a very light sleeper”, he raised his eyebrows knowingly at her, “plus I would recognize Kev’s voice anywhere.”</p><p>He thought he actually saw a hint of blush on her cheeks, so he had enough poking fun. “Our little secret, I promise. As long as you keep this between us too”, he said referring to his nightmare.</p><p>She seemed to like that idea, “Our little secret Halstead”, and stuck out her pinky finger.</p><p>“Wow a pinky promise, this is serious V. I think we just became best friends”, Jay said while chuckling. Vanessa rolled her eyes and said good night again before leaving Hailey’s bedroom, secretly feeling excited that Jay actually wanted to be her friend. They were always friendly, but this felt like he trusted her now, and cared about letting her in.</p><p>Kevin was sitting up in her bed waiting for her to get back. Vanessa crawled in and went to snuggle up to him.</p><p>“Jay knows”, she smirked.</p><p>XX</p><p>Vanessa yawned herself awake the next morning, getting out of bed to quietly shower and get ready for the day. She poked her head into Hailey’s room to check on Jay and was surprised to find it empty. The bed was made and he was nowhere to be found. She checked the time, realizing it was 7:30 and he had likely been awake and gone long before she got up. She walked downstairs finding a note on the counter explaining his whereabouts.<br/>Didn’t want to bother you guys this morning. Thanks for the hospitality at Hotel Rojas last night, I’m feeling well rested today. 5 stars on Yelp. Have a good weekend, see you Monday. – Jay</p><p>She chuckled and shook her head. Leave it to Jay to make a joke about having a nightmare and a not so peaceful sleep. Humour perhaps a way of coping, she thought.</p><p>Kevin got up shortly after, the two of them sharing breakfast and a coffee before he had to leave to help Adam with something. </p><p>“See you tonight?” He kissed her on the cheek before heading out the door.</p><p>“Definitely, need to take advantage of having the house to myself. Hailey’s back next weekend already”, Vanessa smirked.</p><p>“Do you think Halstead’s going to snitch on us? To Hailey at least?” Kevin asked half amused, half nervous.</p><p>She shook her head. “Nah. I think he’s a solid secret keeper.”</p><p>“Copy that”, he gave her one last kiss and left for the day.  </p><p>Vanessa cleaned the house, caught up on some paperwork, made herself a nice lunch and met up with Kim for yoga. She was dreading Monday as she was being detailed to work a food festival at Navy Pier.</p><p>“Seniority problems. Sorry”, Kim laughed a little, secretly glad she was no longer the lowest on the Intelligence totem pole. </p><p>Vanessa rolled her eyes and laughed, she understood. The perks of being a rookie. She left Kim for the afternoon and went home to start on dinner for her and Kevin.</p><p>He arrived around 7, the two of them sharing a romantic dinner and an even more romantic night together. She was happy Hailey was coming back this week, but would be lying if she said she didn’t want a few extra days in the Kevin bubble. Much like her roommate, she was keeping an inter-office relationship a secret.</p><p>XX</p><p>Monday rolled around fast, like it always does. Jay had spent the weekend by himself. At first, he was nervous about that, being alone with his thoughts was sometimes a slippery slope. But afterwards he realized that he really did need some alone and self-care time. He watched old movies and went for a few runs, caught up on some much needed sleep and even met Will for a beer. And talked to Hailey of course. He couldn’t wait to see her later this week. </p><p>His radio lit up in his truck on the way to work, he smiled when he saw Hailey’s name and number flash across the screen.</p><p>“Morning”, he answered, happy to hear her voice.</p><p>“Mording”, Hailey replied back, sounding congested.</p><p>“Uh oh, you sound like you’re catching a cold”, Jay said sympathetically. He heard a small sneeze on the other end.</p><p>“Ugh I am, everyone is sick in this office right now. Can’t stop sneedzing”, Hailey sniffled on the other end. </p><p>“That’s not good. You should be back at your hotel resting”, Jay replied.</p><p>“No can do, big case this week before I leave for homb”, Hailey cleared her throat. </p><p>“Hmm I see. Well I hope you feel better, being sick sucks”, he said, interrupted by another sneeze fest.</p><p>“Thanks, and to make matters worse, I think I caught this cold by going out to eat New York pizza with the team. If they can even call it that”, she replied.</p><p>“It can’t be that bad, it’s pizza”, he laughed on the other end at her dramatics.</p><p>“It really is Jay”, she attempted to giggle but coughed instead.</p><p>“Okay, okay. Well when you’re back and feeling better we’ll hit Bartoli’s”, he grinned at the idea of a real date with Hailey.</p><p>“Deal”, she agreed.</p><p>Jay turned off his truck and started to head into work, “You are coming back this week right?” A little bit of insecurity flashing through, his conversation with Platt replaying in his brain.</p><p>“Of course. I miss Chicago. You know, the wind. And you”, she said, reassuring him after hearing the uncertainty in his voice.</p><p>“Hmm you miss me do ya?” Jay said playfully.</p><p>“Shut up, I gotta go”, she laughed, he could see the eye roll on the other end of the phone.</p><p>“Hails?” </p><p>“Ya?”<br/>“I miss you too. Take care of that cold”, he said before ending the call.</p><p>Hailey smiled on the other end, trying to calm her own nerves. There was something going around the office, she just hoped it was the common cold and not the virus that was taking hold across the city.</p><p>XX</p><p>Jay walked upstairs to find a quiet bullpen, aside from Voight. He was the first one here. He dropped the coffee he picked up for Vanessa on her desk and heard a small chuckle from his Sergeants office.</p><p>“You in trouble or something Halstead?” </p><p>“Huh?” Jay asked stepping towards the office.</p><p>“You normally only get Hailey coffee on your way to work. Vanessa must have done something nice for you, or you owe her for some reason.”</p><p>Jay laughed and shook his head, seeing that his boss was playing with him. “Ya something like that Sarge.” Vanessa had helped him out over the weekend, even though she probably thought it was nothing, to Jay it was huge.</p><p>“Missing Hailey?” Voight asked coyly.</p><p>Jay hung in the doorframe with his arms crossed, “What makes you think that?”</p><p>“You two think you’re discreet, but I have eyes Jay”, he replied casually.</p><p>Jay was frozen in the door jam, a little tongue tied at that.</p><p>“You’ve been wandering around these last few weeks looking like you’re missing something. Staring off into the distance at her empty desk. Slightly more miserable than usual behaviour.”</p><p>“Gee thanks Sarge”, Jay said sarcastically, he didn’t think he had been that obvious about his moping. </p><p>“It’s alright Jay. Like I’ve said before, you wear your heart on your sleeve. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. She’ll be back soon”, he said reassuring his detective.</p><p>Saved by the bell, Jay heard Kevin and Adam making their way upstairs. So he nodded and smiled at Voight, tapping his door frame before turning around to start his day.</p><p>XX</p><p>Vanessa showed up about 15 minutes later, pleasantly surprised to find a coffee sitting on her desk. She already knew who it was from, it was the same cups she saw Jay get for Hailey nearly every morning.</p><p>“Wowww, what do I owe the honour Jay Halstead”, she smirked in his direction. </p><p>The rest of the unit laughed at that, they all knew Jay and Hailey had a coffee thing. They sometimes got others a cup, but it was rare. One of their many partner things.</p><p>“I bet he ordered two out of habit, one for him, one for Hailey. Then forgot she wasn’t here, default ended up with Vanessa”, Kim placed her bet.</p><p>“Ya Rojas, is that black with two sugars?” Ruzek asked playfully, knowing Hailey’s order.</p><p>Rojas looked down and laughed, “Nope. This is my order, dark roast two cream.”</p><p>“Hmm, okay so he bought this for you on purpose”, Adam hypothesized out loud. Jokingly making his way to the whiteboard to write down their theories.</p><p>Jay eyed Vanessa, hoping she wouldn’t tell everyone the real reason. He didn’t think she would, but a part of him felt a bit uneasy. Vanessa looked his way and winked, giving him a sincere nod and smile. Telepathetically promising to keep their secret.</p><p>“My guess is Vanessa made him dinner on the weekend, filling in for his and Hailey’s usual Saturday night deep dish date”, Ruzek added, immediately tensing up seeing Voight watching from his office doorway.</p><p>Everyone went silent for a second, including Ruzek, looking nervously at Jay as if he’d just ousted his coworkers in front of their boss, but Voight seemed unfazed by that news and so did Jay. No surprise there, he was usually able to keep his expressions in check. In fact, Jay had both of his feet kicked up on his desk, looking smug at this whole exchange.</p><p>“Mhmm, anyways…”, Adam trailed off. “Kev you have any theories you would like to add?”</p><p>Kevin watched Jay smirk, knowing that if he was going to out Jay, he would incriminate himself too.</p><p>“Well, my guess is that Jay Halstead woke up this fine Monday morning, at the start of a very important week for no reason in particular… just feeling overall like a nice guy. Deciding to bless Vanessa with some caffeine as she heads out to do her rookie patrol shift at the food festival today”, Kevin grinned at Vanessa and then at Jay, doing some winking of his own.</p><p>Jay had his hands up cradling the back of his head when Kevin said that, breaking out into a grin. “What can I say Kev, you got me. I was thinking she might have had some late nights this weekend, being so young and carefree and all, so I decided to take it upon myself to make sure she was heavily caffeinated for her big day ahead”, he nodded in her direction, sending her thank you eyes that only she appeared to pick up on.</p><p>Rojas nodded in understanding at Jay, then looked around at her co-workers, laughing. For the first time in a long time, actually feeling fully included and a part of their jokes and constant team banter. None of them ever made her feel less than, but being the newcomer, sometimes it was hard to crack into a tight knit group like this one.</p><p>She returned from the locker room a while later, dressed in her patrol uniform ready to take on the day, and what a day it would turn out to be.</p><p>XX</p><p>The festival was running smoothly at Navy Pier, Vanessa was partnered up with another female officer from the 25th district. They hit it off, making jokes and swapping stories about being fresh on the force while wandering around the waterfront trail. For being spring time in Chicago, the weather was surprisingly nice, and they were rewarded with some sun and little wind. Rojas closed her eyes, pretending to soak up the sunshine after the longest winter. Late afternoon rolled around when she saw Jay, Kevin, Kim and Adam hop out of Jay’s truck. </p><p>She rolled her eyes and smiled as they approached her.</p><p>“Must be a slow day”, Vanessa joked.</p><p>“Just thought we’d come see you in action”, Kevin replied cheekily.</p><p>The other officer with Vanessa put two and two together. “Wait, you’re in Intelligence?” She exclaimed, impressed by her partners position within CPD at such a young age.</p><p>“Oh, ya, these are my coworkers”, Vanessa chuckled and introduced them all. </p><p>Just then, their radios started going off, alerting them of a possible disturbance at a booth closer to the pier. </p><p>“Duty calls”, Rojas sighed, saying bye to her friends.</p><p>“You’re doing amazing sweetie”, Kim joked. “We’re proud of you kiddo”, Jay echoed back. Rojas’ ears turning red with embarrassment, but low key enjoying their playful banter.</p><p>The four members of Intelligence were almost back to Jay’s truck when they heard the unmistakable sound of Vanessa yelling for help. Kim turned back to see what was going on. It looked like she ran to the water and was peering over the edge, chaos unfolding around her. Then they heard her call out on their radios.</p><p>“Child fell into the water off Navy Pier. Need immediate assistance. Northeast corner.”</p><p>Jay, Kim, Adam and Kevin all started running towards the water. Just in time to see Vanessa pull off her radio and jump in.</p><p>Jay was the fastest of the group, sprinting and dodging his way through the crowds of people. They weren’t really sure what they were going to do, that water was cold and deep. His heart was pounding in his ears, this could go south very quickly.</p><p>“Jay, Jay!” Kevin yelled from the back of the pack. “Vanessa can’t swim!” </p><p>That’s when he forced his legs to go a little bit faster, taking off his jacket mid sprint, not even thinking twice about plunging into the icy waters of Lake Michigan.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Leaving you with a cliff hanger! Hoping to get another chapter up later this week. Grad school is once again kicking my butt. Thank you for the reviews! Love that you guys are enjoying this story. Have a great week –K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Cheers to a Jay Halstead move</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 25</p><p>Kevin's panicked, "Vanessa can't swim", kept ringing in Jay's ears.</p><p>He dove off the pier without second guessing what he was doing. The water was so cold it felt like a thousand needles were stabbing him as his body broke the surface, his lungs protesting immediately.</p><p>Deep breaths Jay, deep breaths, he kept telling himself. Trying to remember his Army survival training from way back in the day. Fortunately, his muscle memory kicked in and he was able to calm himself down and swim towards Vanessa and the child who fell with her. He saw it was a little boy, maybe 6 or 7, who looked frightened beyond belief, as did Vanessa.</p><p>"Vanessa!" Jay yelled, hoping she wasn't unconscious, he couldn't really tell from where he was, her head was barely above the water. A jump from that height could have easily knocked her out. The child's head was barely above the water too, Vanessa was using all of her strength to keep his head mostly out of the water. Jay wasn't sure if the boy could swim. Even if he could, in water this cold and fully dressed, the odds and time were both against them.</p><p>Thankfully, she turned her head slightly at his voice.</p><p>He let out a sigh of relief, swimming as fast as he could towards her. He could tell she was panicking, that her reaction was to save the boy of course, but at what expense.</p><p>"Jay", she whispered weakly, her lips chattering from the cold.</p><p>"It's okay V, I got you", Jay said tiredly.</p><p>"Take him first", she told him, but Jay sort of chuckled.</p><p>"I'm taking you both", he was sure she didn't realize that he had been trained for this sort of thing.</p><p>She looked at him confused before he added. "Army training, I'm a little rusty but it's just like riding a bike."</p><p>She nodded, not having the energy for much else.</p><p>"What's your name bud", Jay said to the boy, whose lips were turning blue by the minute, and flailing around, struggling with Vanessa.</p><p>"Ja-ake", he stuttered, teeth chattering as well.</p><p>"Great name, my names Jay. This is my friend Vanessa. We're going to get out of here okay but I need you to do something for me", he calmly told the kid as they were all treading water. Jake nodded.</p><p>"Okay, I need you to stop kicking. I know you're scared, but I'm going to get us out of here. Come closer to Vanessa, I'm going to come behind you guys and swim us over to that ladder. But it's only going to work if you stop fighting us."</p><p>The boy seemed to listen to Jay, which Vanessa was thankful for. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hang on with him panicking too.</p><p>Jay scanned where they were, he had to do this fast, they weren't going to last much longer in this cold water. He heard sirens coming their way, which hopefully meant ambulances and squad were close. He saw a ladder at the edge of the pier, quickly estimating that they were about 50 metres away. They floated a bit farther than he would have liked but this was the only option.</p><p>"Float on your back as much as you can Vanessa, keep Jake on top of you, I'll make sure your head stays out of the water okay?" Jay said, sounding tired himself.</p><p>"Okay", she said quietly, he could hear the fear in her voice.</p><p>"You have to trust me alright? We're getting out of here now", he repeated, kicking as hard as he could to the ladder. He saw the team standing over the edge, Kim running back with Kelly and Capp, who were fully suited up.</p><p>Jay was nearing exhaustion by the time he got to the pier, his hands and body were so cold. By the time they were at the ladder, Kelly had already climbed halfway down and quickly grabbed Jake and Vanessa from Jay's arms, helping the two of them to safety. Jay was treading water still, waiting for his turn to get out, Kelly looking at him like he was crazy.</p><p>"Holy shit Halstead, let's get you out of here", Kelly leaned down to help pull Jay up the ladder.</p><p>It took all of his strength and a bit of Kelly's to pull himself up and out onto the pier, his clothes sopping wet and heavy from the water. Jay took a few deep breaths on his hands and knees when he made it back to level ground. He could hear commotion around him, but he zoned out for a second, trying to catch his breath.</p><p>"Jay, Jay, come on you need to get looked at", he could hear Kim's voice, and felt her hand on his back, even though it sounded like she was so far away. His head was pounding from the adrenaline.</p><p>He nodded, trying to communicate but his body was so cold he couldn't focus on anything else.</p><p>"He needs to get out of those clothes, fast", "Someone go grab his gym bag from his truck I think he has stuff in there", he heard his friends talking around him.</p><p>He finally lifted his head, seeing Kelly and Brett hovering over him. Brett wrapping him in a warming blanket, while Severide helped him stand up and walk over to an ambulance.</p><p>After reassuring everyone he was totally fine, just needed to catch his breath, he still had to sit in the back of the ambulance to warm up.</p><p>Brett and Foster checked his temperature, which was hovering around 97 degrees. They were worried about hypothermia setting in, and rightfully so.</p><p>"Come on Jay, out of those clothes", Foster said nonchalantly.</p><p>"Not even dinner first? Wow Foster, I'm hurt", he joked.</p><p>The two women laughed, "Trust me Jay you are not my type", Foster eyed him jokingly. "Glad that you still have your sense of humour though."</p><p>He nodded as he surrendered and accepted the help getting out of his wet clothes, his fingers were barely moving.</p><p>They wrapped him in blankets and sat with him for a while. Jake had been taken to Med as a precaution, same with Vanessa. Since they had been in the water longer than he was.</p><p>A surprise to no one, Jay denied being transported to the hospital. His temperature came back up to normal and Adam brought him clothes from his truck. Brett and Foster would have preferred him to get checked at Med, but also knew Jay. He didn't inhale any water or hurt himself on the way in or out, he was just cold. He promised them he would go home and rest in bed and go to the hospital if anything felt off.</p><p>He got changed in the back of the ambulance, once again praising Hailey's idea to keep spare clothes in their vehicles. Seemed to get him out of more than a couple jams. Once he was dressed, he opened the back door and Adam handed him his jacket he threw off at the pier. Jay was thankful for the extra layers.</p><p>"These are all Kim had on her", Adam said sheepishly as he handed Jay a pair of dark purple woolly mittens. They both laughed, but Jay was too cold to care right now and gratefully put them over his hands.</p><p>Kim pulled his truck up so he didn't have to walk that far. Jay quickly thanked Squad 3 and gave his report to the other officers that had come to take over the scene. Turns out there was a domestic of some sort going on at a booth, the one that Vanessa and her partner had been called to. Jake just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time and had been pushed in by accident during all of the commotion. The couple felt terrible about it and were apologizing profusely, thanking Jay. He just sort of nodded and went about his own business, leaving the other officers to deal with it now.</p><p>"That was pretty badass Halstead I have to admit. Jumping in Lake Michigan at this time of year without a suit on", Kelly said sounding impressed.</p><p>"Instinct I guess. Not sure what Vanessa was thinking, she can't swim", Jay shook his head incredulously, knowing that this could have ended up much differently had they not been there in time.</p><p>"Might call you next time we have a water rescue", Capp joked.</p><p>Jay parted ways with Squad and went back to his truck. He handed the keys over to Adam who cranked the heat, and Kim sat in the back. Kevin had gone in the ambulance with Vanessa.</p><p>"We already called Voight. He told us to take you home, that we were good for the day", Adam informed him.</p><p>Jay nodded gratefully, he didn't really want to go back to work right now. He wanted to go home and lie on his couch, wrap himself in blankets and watch movies for the rest of the day.</p><p>"Thanks guys", Jay smiled.</p><p>"That was crazy Jay. Really. When I saw you dive in….I just didn't want to have to make that call to Hailey…", Kim trailed off.</p><p>Jay smirked at her in the rear view mirror. "I've jumped out of a helicopter into a lake before during water training. A little pier dive doesn't scare me."</p><p>Adam and Kim both stared at him curiously.</p><p>"Mind you it was in the summertime so the water was a little nicer, but tomato, tomatoe right", he casually told them.</p><p>They were still looking at him like he had two heads. "It's alright, ask what you need to ask. I can talk about my Army time without spiralling", he reassured them.</p><p>"Out of a helicopter?! How far up? Did you have a parachute? What lake? Did it hurt? Why did you have to do that? That seems dangerous" Kim rapid fired.</p><p>"Kim", Adam hissed.</p><p>"It's alright, really. Umm, pretty far up, yes I had a parachute. No it didn't hurt. Well sort of when we hit the water but not too badly. We practiced in case we ever had to have a water mission. Which we did… a few times…I can't exactly tell you details about that for legal reasons. But what I can tell you is that it happened in a place that rhymes with Schm-Afghanistan", he laughed at his own joke. Adam and Kim burst out laughing too, surprised by his sudden openness.</p><p>"Interesting. I have so many more questions", Kim said bewildered by Jay's secretive, and apparently adrenaline filled past.</p><p>"Stories for another time", Jay chuckled, interrupting himself with a yawn.</p><p>Kim seemed to accept that answer. "I texted your brother by the way. He surprisingly was not that phased about your little swim, or the fact that you didn't want to go to the hospital. Vanessa and Jake are both fine. She has a black eye for some reason according to Will, but other than that all good."</p><p>"A black eye?" Adam questioned.</p><p>"The kid was flailing around a lot in the water, in a panic. He probably knocked her by accident", Jay reasoned.</p><p>"Hmm, that makes sense. Ouch. She's lucky you were there", Kim trailed off. Jays truck was silent for a second, letting this afternoons events really sink in.</p><p>"Everyone's okay, that's all that matters", Adam voiced, Jay and Kim nodding.</p><p>They got back to Jay's apartment, his legs immediately cramping up after hopping out of his truck. He winced, trying to hide it from Adam and Kim, but Kim saw.</p><p>"Jay", she warned.</p><p>"I'm fine, honestly. Just a cramp. I need something salty", he replied.</p><p>"Why don't you go up with Jay and I'll go grab us some food, since we didn't have a chance to eat at the festival", Adam suggested.</p><p>That sounded like a good plan, Adam telling them he would surprise them with their food.</p><p>"20 bucks he comes back with tacos", Jay bet Kim.</p><p>"Hmm, no my money is on hot Italian beef sandwiches", she was practically drooling.</p><p>"I would definitely be okay with that too", Jay's stomach grumbling as he said that.</p><p>"Foster and Brett put you two up to this huh", Jay said after he came out from his room, dressed in sweats, a hoodie and warm socks to see Kim hovering over his stove making tea.</p><p>Kim looked at him guiltily, "Maybe. Just for a few hours to make sure you don't have hypothermia."</p><p>He laughed at her, trying to be discreet. "Fair enough."</p><p>"How cold was the water, really?" Kim asked curiously, staring at Jay because she had never seen him dressed so casual before.</p><p>"Cold. Like needles stabbing you cold. Its hard to explain", Jay confirmed.</p><p>"Were you scared?"</p><p>"Not really. Not for me. I panicked when I heard Kevin yell that Rojas couldn't swim. Why she would do something so stupid, especially with a vest on, weighing her down. But then I realized I would have done the same thing, fight or flight just takes over sometimes."</p><p>"You 100 percent would have done the same stupid thing", Kim chuckled as she brought over mugs of tea for them and a hot water bottle to warm Jay up.</p><p>"Thanks Kim", he smiled at her thoughtfulness as she proceeded to cover him with a blanket, and relaxed back into the couch.</p><p>He had started to doze off by the time Adam came back with food. Kim smiling because she won the bet.</p><p>"Am I that predicable?" Adam laughed.</p><p>"No I just know you. And also know that the thought "what would Jay want because he is really cold? Hmm HOT beef sandwiches yes", definitely went through your mind."</p><p>Jay nearly choked on his sandwich he was laughing so hard.</p><p>"Honestly, true", Adam laughed.</p><p>After they had finished eating they were hanging out watching TV when Hailey FaceTimed Jay.</p><p>He blushed a little, Kim and Adam giving him looks, daring him to answer.</p><p>"Hey Hails", he said as he opened the call.</p><p>"Aacchooo", was her first response.</p><p>Jay winced, "Not feeling much better huh. You sound worse than this morning."</p><p>Hailey shook her head no, "Dot really."</p><p>"Well, something to rival your shitty day. I took a plunge in Lake Michigan this afternoon", Jay added.</p><p>Hailey's eyes widened. "What?!" She exclaimed as she wiped her nose with a tissue.</p><p>Jay explained the whole thing, Adam and Kim chiming in occasionally.</p><p>"Vanessa okay?" Hailey asked.</p><p>"Ya she is. Went to Med to get checked out, but her and the boy are both fine", Jay replied.</p><p>"Good", Hailey said sounding relieved. "Looks like you could have used these more than me today", she said dangling his dog tags in front of the camera.</p><p>Adam and Kim raised their eyebrows, this must be serious if Jay gave her those while she was in New York.</p><p>"Definitely. Here talk to Adam and Kim for a second I have to go to the bathroom", Jay passed his phone off.</p><p>"How's that cold Hailey, you sound terrible", Kim asked sympathetically.</p><p>"I feel terrible", Hailey sniffled. "Having some soup for dinner and going to try and sleeb it off."</p><p>Adam winced at the congestion, "Good idea. Do notbring that back here with you. You know how Platt gets with germs."</p><p>Hailey laughed at that, "I dnow. Trying. I'll be fine by Friday hopefully."</p><p>Jay appeared from the bathroom again, telling Hailey she should have some soup and go to bed as she was mid cough.</p><p>"Mmm, sexy", he mused.</p><p>Hailey shot him a dirty look and smirked.</p><p>"I'll take care of you this weekend", he added softly, temporarily forgetting about Adam and Kim.</p><p>Hailey laughed at both of their shocked expressions on her screen. "Think you just blew our secret Halstead."</p><p>"Oh please, these two of ALL people. Can't say a worddd", Jay laughed and rolled his eyes.</p><p>"The man makes a good point. Secrets safe", Adam shrugged.</p><p>"Life's too short, I could have drowned today. Spilling our secret doesn't seem so scary", Jay replied.</p><p>"Jay Halstead, you were not going to drown. But you're right. Not so scary", Hailey smiled.</p><p>Kim just sat there, still frozen.</p><p>"Cat got your tongue Kim?" Hailey joked.</p><p>"Add this to the I have so many questions for Jay list", Kim mumbled.</p><p>Jay laughed at that.</p><p>"And the I KNEW you guys hooked up after Cruz's wedding list", Adam smirked.</p><p>Hailey blushed. "Hmm I don't know about that."</p><p>"Girl come on. I know your sex eyes when I see them. That Monday after, sex eyes", Adam emphasized as Jay covered his face and laughed, caught red-handed.</p><p>"Adam!", Kim's turn to hiss, unsure how Jay would react to bringing up their past relationship.</p><p>"What? We're all adults here. Happy for you two, really", Adam smiled as he glanced at Kim, both of them watching Jay blush a little.</p><p>"Thanks guys", Hailey smiled.</p><p>"Okay, go to bed Hails for real. I'll talk to you tomorrow", Jay convinced her to get some rest and said good bye.</p><p>Adam and Kim stayed for a while after dinner catching up with Jay. They rarely, if ever, hungout just the three of them. So it was kind of nice to be able to do this, although under strange circumstances.</p><p>After they left, Jay decided to call Vanessa. A few tries later, and he still couldn't get a hold of her. He wanted to make sure she was okay after the day they had, so he jumped in his truck, a bit to the protest of his sore and still cold, body.</p><p>He was relieved to see a light on at their house and Vanessa sitting on the couch as he approached the front door. She opened the door and smiled, Jay winced looking at her already purple eye.</p><p>"You should see the other guy", Vanessa joked, lightening the mood a bit.</p><p>She invited him in, Jay immediately making a beeline for the kitchen.</p><p>"What are you doing?" Vanessa asked curiously.</p><p>He was reaching around in one of their shelves when he pulled out a bottle of expensive whiskey Hailey keeps hidden in the back of a top cupboard.</p><p>"We're toasting to your first very Jay Halstead-esque incredibly dumb move", he smirked.</p><p>Vanessa looked sheepish, "You aren't going to yell at me are you? I've had enough of that this afternoon from Voight already."</p><p>Jay laughed and shook his head. "No I'm not going to yell at you. I would have done the exact same thing. Well I sort of did I guess. Plus I've done wayworse. Hence the toast. Welcome to the club", he smirked as they clinked glasses and moved back to the living room.</p><p>She laughed and rolled her eyes, it wasn't until they were sitting on the couch by the fire when she realized what they were doing.</p><p>"Do you think Hailey's going to be mad we did your thing without her?" Vanessa asked cheekily as Jay blushed a little.</p><p>"I think she would be happy for us. Maybe a little mad we did a dangerous thing today, but nonetheless- bonding time", he smiled.</p><p>"Thank you for today, really. You saved our lives", Vanessa said, a little choked up.</p><p>Jay set his drink down and moved closer to her on the couch to give her a hug. The young officer was visibly shaken from today, although hiding it well.</p><p>"I just couldn't- couldn't let that boy drown. You're not hurt are you?", she stammered out through a few tears.</p><p>"I know. You did a good thing Vanessa. I have your back, always. And no I'm not hurt, I'm okay. We're both okay", Jay smiled and gave her a friendly squeeze.</p><p>Vanessa wiped her tears away and collected herself, getting back to the hockey game they were watching.</p><p>Jay held up a finger, indicating he would be right back.</p><p>He pulled out an ice pack from the freezer and came back into the living room to give it to her.</p><p>"This is going to be a nice shiner", he said while gently covering her eye with the ice.</p><p>"Thanks dad", Vanessa grinned widely.</p><p>Jay chuckled at himself and Vanessa's comments towards him and Hailey being her parents. This was a dad move on his part.</p><p>He shook his head and rolled his eyes, telling Vanessa that Hailey was sick so they shouldn't call her so late.</p><p>"Ahh, that's not good. Hopefully she's feeling better by the weekend. So you guys can have a reunion", she winked with her good eye.</p><p>Jay laughed at that. "Ya something like that." He yawned, and asked Vanessa if he could crash here tonight. Vanessa went upstairs to her room and Jay to Hailey's, both falling asleep quickly and having an uninterrupted, much needed rest.</p><p>Later that week, Jay woke up on Wednesday as if it were any other day. This week was feeling especially long as he waited for Hailey to come home. The beginning half of the week always seemed to drag on, but today felt particularly torturous. Not only because he impatiently wanted Hailey back, but also because he had a massive headache that he couldn't seem to shake, probably the weather and staring at a computer all day. It had been a slow week in Intelligence, the team was over Vanessa and Jay's plunge into Lake Michigan and had moved on to more exciting things like paperwork and searching through outstanding arrest warrants.</p><p>When he spoke with her that afternoon, Hailey said she was feeling much better and was looking forward to coming home to Chicago. New York was starting to get a little crazy with that virus going around and she was anxious to get home. There was a panic in the air, one she was trying to downplay in her own mind.</p><p>It was late Wednesday night when Jay was sitting alone in his apartment. His body was so sore, he felt like he was hit by a bus. He chalked it up to his pier dive the other day. He saw Hailey's name light up on his phone, immediately feeling a bit better. So he smiled and answered it.</p><p>"Hey Hails", he said softly.</p><p>"Hey", she replied back, sounding nervous.</p><p>That got the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "What's wrong?"</p><p>Hailey's voice cracked a bit, as if she was crying.</p><p>"Jay, New York is going on lockdown tonight, they're cancelling flights."</p><p>"Wait what?!" Jay asked bewildered, he immediately turned on the TV. He had just been sitting in his living room in the dark because his head hurt.</p><p>He read the headlines, shocked at what was happening, and so fast. How he missed all this by lying down for a few hours.</p><p>NBA, NHL suspend their seasons indefinitely</p><p>All international flights and borders to be closed</p><p>Shelter in place to take effect immediately</p><p>New York City- the new epicentre of the virus</p><p>"Oh wow Hailey, this is bad", Jay took a deep breath.</p><p>"I don't know if I'm going to be able to get home Jay", she said tearfully as they sat their on the phone, in different cities, suddenly unsure what their immediate future would hold.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Am I mean leaving it here? I have another chapter pretty much ready to go so I will have it posted sooner than later. I do apologize for my inconsistency this summer. I'm sure like many (probably all) of you, life has been a little strange lately and just trying to do my best to get through it and take some time for some self-care and for those around me! Hope everyone is well in your corners of the Earth. Stay healthy and safe! – K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Fever Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 26</p><p>"What do you mean you don't think you can get home?" Jay asked frantically. He was so excited to see her, hold her, finally be together. This wasn't going to get in the way, it couldn't, not now. How cruel the world was.</p><p>"We got word today that this virus is taking hold and spreading here, fast. It's bad Jay, really bad", she said quietly.</p><p>"They can't possibly expect you to stay there during this then? You live here. Chicago is your home, not New York. You can't be forced to stay", Jay replied.</p><p>"I know but things are shutting down already. You've seen the news now. I don't know what to do this happened so fast. FBI said I can stay in a safe house they have here. OA has been sick all week too. I don't think we have it…but I can't live with myself if I bring it back to you guys", Hailey said nervously.</p><p>"Do you have the symptoms? They are pretty general", Jay asked more calmly.</p><p>"Not really. I mean I have a bit of a cough, but no shortness of breath or fever. It's just a cold. Same with OA he's been sniffling all week", Hailey explained.</p><p>Jay didn't really love that she was taking care of her New York partner, but here they were.</p><p>"My flights already been cancelled", Hailey stated.</p><p>"Well I will come and get you then", Jay logically replied.</p><p>"I just talked to Voight. He isn't going to let you do that", Hailey said, the tears more evident in her voice now.</p><p>"WHAT?!" Jay was getting angry now, only making his head feel worse.</p><p>"Haven't you talked to him yet? The group chat is blowing up", Hailey asked confused why he was so out of the loop.</p><p>"No I haven't, I've been lying down all night I have a bad headache", Jay explained.</p><p>"Ahh okay. Well maybe talk to the team first and see what your quarantine plans are. I'll figure it out on my end I guess… I've been sick this week I don't know if they'll let me travel", she said.</p><p>Silence from Jay as he was thinking. "Hailey you have to get back", he said softly.</p><p>"I know. Don't worry okay, we'll figure it out", she said as she hung up the phone to let Jay deal with whatever was happening in Chicago right now.</p><p>"Dyeing the river green has been cancelled?!" Jay looked at his phone in disbelief, this can't be happening.</p><p>He called Voight, who calmly tried to explain to him what their protocol was for now, according to the CDC. It was out of his hands.</p><p>"You sent her to New York! YOU Hank. Now we're in the middle of a pandemic, you need to get her out of there", Jay didn't care how panicked he sounded, because he was.</p><p>"I understand Halstead. I am just as overwhelmed and uncertain as you right now. I'm doing everything I can", Voight said.</p><p>"Fix it", Jay didn't wait for a response before he hung up the phone and started calling the others.</p><p>After much discussion and confusion, a range of emotions on the phone, Jay decided to phone his brother. Throughout all of this it didn't really occur to him how Will was feeling about everything going on. He was going to be on the frontlines of this and that made him feel even more uneasy.</p><p>"Am I nervous? Sure. This is new and we don't know anything about the virus. How it affects people, how much this is going to cripple our hospitals. But for right now, I'm going to continue doing my job, the job I signed up for. I know this could be a possibility at some point in my career, don't worry about me Jay it's going to be alright deep breath okay", Will tried to calmly reassure him.</p><p>"Okay", Jay said sounding unsure of himself.</p><p>"Have you talked to Hailey?" Will asked, which was apparently the wrong thing to say.</p><p>"Of course I've talked to her. She's stuck in New York, the absolute worst place to be right now. She doesn't know what to do", Jay retorted.</p><p>"Alright. Well it might take her some extra time, but you know she's going to come home right? She's okay", Will replied.</p><p>"She has a cold, she's freaking out that it's the virus now", Jay explained.</p><p>Will then understood his panic. "I see. Well does she have any of the symptoms? It could very well just be a cold Jay…"</p><p>"I know that Will, but the timing…her whole team is sick. I'm worried about her", he said quietly.</p><p>Will listened empathetically, "I know you are. But Hailey is young and healthy, in great shape. Even if she did have it, chances are it's going to be a mild case." If Jay wasn't going to listen to him as his brother, he would try the logical doctor approach.</p><p>He heard Jay exhale deeply on the other end of the phone.</p><p>"Is she going to be allowed to travel?" Jay asked, hoping his brother would know the answer.</p><p>Will's turn to be silent and exhale. "She could try and get a test, although right now things are a bit up in the air. If she's negative she could try and get out of the city."</p><p>"Can you call her Will? She's freaking out. And so am I", Jay admitted. Will a bit surprised on the other end about his honesty.</p><p>Will promised he would get a hold of Hailey and tried to reassure Jay things were going to work out, he could hear him getting anxious on the phone.</p><p>After ending the call with Will, Jay sat in his apartment, still in the dark, too drained to turn on the TV again. He decided to crawl into bed to try and shake this headache and hope that tomorrow would bring good news.</p><p>Thursday morning came and Jay felt like he slept for five minutes. No really. He was up for what felt like the entire night just tossing and turning, thinking about Hailey and how he could get her home as soon as possible.</p><p>He didn't even wait for his alarm to go off at 6, he was up, showered, tried to eat something even though he barely had an appetite. His anxiety was through the roof today and he could already tell this day was going to be long and terrible.</p><p>The sharp ache in his skull had subdued to be more of a dull one, although still there. The lack of sleep and stress were getting to him this week for sure. He drove into work early and sat at his desk, trying to make sense of this. For all they knew, the world as they knew it was gone. These were different times now.</p><p>Jay barely made it through the morning fidgeting around the bullpen. The CPD was trying to create a plan moving forward for working during the pandemic. It was pure chaos, Trudy was downstairs fielding calls left right and center. Jay and Rojas had gone out to do a coffee and donut run on Voight. It had been a stressful few days, so he was treating the team.</p><p>Jay was quiet during the truck ride to the donut shop, well more quiet than he usually was. Vanessa had learned that Jay was chatty when he wanted to be, sometimes he just had to make the first conversation move. She thought they had made some significant friendship progress during the time Hailey's been away, especially the whole saving her life thing. She knew he was stressed out about Hailey being in New York and on top of that not feeling well this week. She didn't want to add to his bad mood by making unnecessary small talk.</p><p>Jay was trying to ignore the growing pain in the back of his throat, trying to avoid talking because it was beginning to hurt. He was glad Vanessa picked up on the fact that he wasn't really in the mood to chat. Of all of his co-workers, he really thought Vanessa was the most intuitive. He just needed to make it through the day and go home to sleep it off. They pulled up to the store, grabbed their coffee and donuts and headed back to his truck.</p><p>Vanessa noticed Jay clearing his throat and how hoarse he sounded in the donut shop. She pulled out a lozenge she had in her coat pocket and slowly held out her hand for him to grab it. He smiled weakly at her and took it, the lemon and honey flavour helping a bit.</p><p>"Thanks", he said quietly, she nodded in return.</p><p>They were quiet the rest of the ride to the district and Jay was glad when Vanessa took the reigns and yelled to everyone that they were back with coffee and treats. He silently retreated to his desk and finished working on his reports. Voight informed the team that everyone had the day off tomorrow as the district was undergoing a deep clean, as per orders from Public Health. Everyone was excited for that, no one more than Jay, although for different reasons. He would be able to sleep all day and hopefully kick whatever he was coming down with before Hailey got back. Another thing, he would have time to figure out how he was getting Hailey home.</p><p>His thoughts were interrupted when Vanessa gently set a mug of tea on his desk while the others were going about their business.</p><p>"Not feeling good?" She asked quietly.</p><p>Jay shook his head, admitting it for once.</p><p>"Why don't you go home? You and Hailey are both going to be sick in bed this weekend", she said attempting to make him smile.</p><p>"Voight has someone in holding I have to question about a convenience story robbery. Then I'm leaving", he said as he checked his watch.</p><p>"Alright. Let me know if you need anything. You look kinda pale", she replied.</p><p>"I'll be fine Vanessa, just need to make it another hour or so", he said clearing his throat.</p><p>She shrugged her shoulders at him and went back to her desk. Kim silently watching the exchange. Jay was getting sick she could tell, she had known him long enough. And also knew him well enough to not bother him or ask if he wasn't feeling well, he hated fussing of any sort. Unless it was Hailey doing the fussing, but that was a different story all together. She chuckled at Vanessa's naivety, the rookie had a lot to learn.</p><p>Any update on when you're coming back? Jay fired off a text to Hailey after he was finishing questioning the suspect, who readily sold out his accomplices. Easy case after all.</p><p>Not yet… got tested this morning. Hopefully get results soon. Finally can go an hour without blowing my nose though!</p><p>Jay chuckled at that, and based on how he was feeling, he almost didn't want to tell her that a snotty Kleenex filled weekend was probably in his very near future.</p><p>Keep me posted, my throats killing me I'm leaving work now and going home to sleep it off. Do you think you'll be back this weekend?</p><p>That's not good…get some rest okay. I'm not sure…might have to stay another week or so depending on these results.</p><p>That hurt Jay's heart on a different level, he was trying to be optimistic but there seemed to be more and more doom and gloom updates every hour regarding this pandemic.</p><p>Okay, wish you were here.</p><p>Me too Jay, miss you</p><p>Missing you more</p><p>That signalled the end of their conversation, as Jay was needing to get packed up and out of the district. His bed was calling his name. He was planning on taking some meds and hopefully passing out for the night.</p><p>Vanessa met up with him in the parking lot just before getting in his truck.</p><p>"Call me if you need anything okay Jay? For real", she looked him up and down again, seeing the slight rosy undertone of his cheeks now.</p><p>He nodded, even that taking all the energy out of him. Over the last few hours he was beginning to feel more and more like he had been hit by a bus.</p><p>She smiled sympathetically, getting into Hailey's car which was temporarily hers and heading home, not expecting to hear from Jay again.</p><p>Jay woke up the middle of the night in a cold sweat, trying to orient himself. He didn't have a nightmare, but he did realize he had a fever. The chills really gave it away.</p><p>Great, he thought. He was trying to check in with his body and see what was hurting, turns out it was everything, but primarily his throat. His alarm clock read 4:30 am, way too early to text Hailey. He dragged himself out of bed into his kitchen to grab a glass of water to wash down the Tylenol he found in his medicine cabinet.</p><p>Luckily, that kicked in pretty fast and allowed him to go back to sleep, he was still in denial this was here to stay and that he would be fine after some rest.</p><p>He woke up again around 10 am, pleasantly surprised that he slept that long. What he wasn't pleasantly surprised with was how sore his throat was, and how hard it was to swallow. He didn't want to admit it to himself but he was pretty sure he had strep. He had it before plenty of times, especially as a kid, some antibiotics would be all he needed.</p><p>He reached around his bed for his phone, seeing a few missed texts from Will and Vanessa.</p><p>Tried to call last night, everything okay? Talked to Hailey, her test came back negative, but she still can't find a way home…</p><p>He sighed in relief at seeing that message from Will. Hailey was still stuck in New York, but at least she didn't have this virus.</p><p>Ya went to bed early. That's good news, hopefully she can get a flight she was looking into some last night, so was Voight. Jay replied.</p><p>You're doing okay with this? Will asked back immediately.</p><p>That was fast…ya I'm okay. Just want her to get home safely. Jay decided not to tell Will he was on his deathbed, he didn't want to bother him, and he was glad he didn't based on the next text.</p><p>I know, me too. It's getting really bad there. A few of my friends from med school working in New York have it, one is on a ventilator… She's only 35. We're preparing for the worst here now. Please stay safe Jay. Will sadly messaged back.</p><p>Jay winced at reading that, now he really couldn't tell Will he was pretty sure he had strep throat. Let alone want to go to a hospital right now.</p><p>Sorry to hear that, hopefully they pull through. You stay safe too.</p><p>Trying my best, still at work, think we're going to be in for a rough go here.</p><p>Jay did some quick math, Will came off night shift at 7 am normally…it was 10:30 and he was still working. He felt some anxiety sneak up as he thought about what his brother was about to face. If it was anything like the news was describing… He shook his head. No, can't think like that right now. Think positive thoughts.</p><p>Call me later okay? Was all Jay could come up with.</p><p>Sounds good, talk to you tonight.</p><p>Jay read the text from Vanessa next, as suspected it was her checking in on him.</p><p>How are you feeling? She sent around 8 am, he figured he should respond so that she didn't come looking for him.</p><p>Alright thanks, just trying to sleep it off.</p><p>She messaged back right away. Good to hear, get some sleep.</p><p>Jay set his phone down on his nightstand and tried to do just that.</p><p>He wouldn't exactly call what he did for the next several hours sleeping, more so just shivering then sweating then shivering again while in bed in the dark with his eyes closed.</p><p>When he could barely swallow water, he decided to admit defeat and sent out the white flag text to Vanessa.</p><p>Can you do me a favour?</p><p>Sure, what's up? She replied a few minutes later.</p><p>Can you take me to the clinic? Think I have strep</p><p>He was glad when she sent a message back immediately rather than attempting to call him. On my way!</p><p>That was his cue to try and rally himself, at least to get out of bed and into some fresh clothes.</p><p>There was a knock at his front door about 20 minutes later.</p><p>That was fast, he thought to himself. Talking hurt too much so when he mustered up all of his strength to go unlock the door, all he could do was raise his eyebrows at her.</p><p>"It's not everyday that THE Jay Halstead asks for your help, figured it must be an emergency", she said, understanding that his look was questioning how she got across town this quickly.</p><p>He forced a smile and shook his head as he moved out of the doorway to let her into his apartment. Her hand went up to his forehead before he could protest.</p><p>"Jay", she chided, "you're burning up."</p><p>"Hence the clinic", he managed to say, sassily too.</p><p>That caused her to roll her eyes and laugh, "Still have your attitude, you must not be quite on your deathbed yet then" she teased.</p><p>"It feels like I am", he said, barely audible. Sounding a little more sorry for himself than he intended.</p><p>Vanessa quickly dropped her joking attitude too, clearly Jay was not feeling well and needed her help today.</p><p>"Alright, alright", she said as she grabbed his jacket from the back of a barstool. "Let's go get you checked out. You have your wallet?" She asked him as he nodded to confirm and locked his apartment behind them.</p><p>The ride over to the walk-in clinic was quiet, Vanessa even turned the radio off as she watched Jay close his eyes in the passenger seat.</p><p>"Jay", she whispered, waking him up instantly.</p><p>"We're here", she told him as he looked around to get his bearings. He simply nodded and took his seatbelt off, dragging himself out of the car and into the clinic.</p><p>Fortunately, there were only a few people ahead of them so the wait wasn't going to be too long. Since Jay had a fever, he was told to put a mask on. Vanessa helped him ease into a chair, she could feel his energy fading, and the struggle it was to move right now. He was complaining of body aches too.</p><p>"I think people are maybe nervous to come here", Vanessa said looking around. The waiting room only had one other guy, a mother and young daughter and an elderly woman in it. Everyone was spread out, a few were wearing masks like Jay.</p><p>"Mmm", Jay mumbled agreeing with her. He knew that once he got antibiotics he would feel much better.</p><p>"Have you eaten anything today?" She asked as he shook his head no.</p><p>"I made a big batch of soup this morning, you can come stay in Hailey's room tonight. Okay?"</p><p>Jay raised his head that was resting against his propped up hand to stare at her.</p><p>"Least I could do Jay. You pulled me out of Lake Michigan this week. It's probably my fault you're sick", she said sheepishly.</p><p>"Can't get sick from cold weather", he said.</p><p>"The 40 degree water probably didn't help with whatever it is that you're coming down with though", she replied.</p><p>He shrugged indifferently, going back to resting his head in his hands. "I still wouldn't have done anything different", he whispered, the most she's heard him say all day.</p><p>Vanessa smiled, gently patting him on the back.</p><p>They waited and waited, almost an hour had gone by and Jay was becoming impatient, as was Vanessa. A young teenager who came in after them was seen by a doctor before them, which made her mad. He didn't even look sick or hurt.</p><p>"Why didn't we just go see your brother again?" She asked curiously.</p><p>"He has enough on his plate with this whole pandemic. He was really stressed out when I talked to him earlier", Jay explained.</p><p>"Gotcha. Although I'm sure he would have made time for you", Vanessa reasoned.</p><p>"I know. I just- didn't want to bother him", Jay replied with a yawn.</p><p>Almost another hour went by, during that time Jay's chin had slowly slipped off his hand and found a resting place on Vanessa's shoulder. She grinned, and tried to stay as still as possible. Jay was jumpy as hell in his sleep she was beginning to realize.</p><p>She was able to move ever so slightly to take her phone out and take a quick selfie of them to Hailey. Jay was passed out and she made a sad face.</p><p>Day off activities. Hailey come get your man. Vanessa sent as the caption along with the picture.</p><p>Vanessa! You're killing me. Poor thing. He actually let you take him to a doctor?!</p><p>I know right…believe it or not it was his idea that we came here.</p><p>Seriously? I need to get home ASAP then, who is this guy and what have you done with my partner Jay Halstead?</p><p>Partner huh. Wink wink</p><p>Haha yes partner…hope to see you guys soon. Let me know how he's doing later</p><p>Vanessa put her phone away and went back to waiting patiently, continuing to let Jay rest his head on her shoulder. She was beginning to feel herself doze off when she heard a nurse come into the waiting room.</p><p>"Jay Halstead?" The young woman asked.</p><p>Upon hearing his name, Jay shot up immediately. He followed a nurse back into an exam room on autopilot and Vanessa texted Kevin to let him know what was going on.</p><p>Jay wasn't back there long, maybe 20 minutes, before he resurfaced.</p><p>"Strep?" Vanessa asked as she stood up to meet him.</p><p>Jay nodded and showed her the prescription for antibiotics that he needed. The nurse followed them out, knowing Jay was having a hard time talking.</p><p>"Classic case of strep throat, and an ear infection. He told me he ended up in Lake Michigan earlier this week?" The nurse told Vanessa, who winced at that news.</p><p>"Uhhh yeah, he did", Vanessa looked apologetically at Jay.</p><p>"Well, he just needs a round of antibiotics and that should clear everything up. He should start to feel better in the next 24 hours or so, make sure to finish all of these even when you start to feel better okay?" Jay gave a thumbs up, he knew the drill.</p><p>"His fever is 102 right now, plenty of fluids and rest Jay" The nurse advised and went back to her other patients.</p><p>Vanessa and Jay went back out to her car and headed towards Jay's place to grab an overnight bag and then towards the nearest pharmacy. She volunteered to go in and let Jay wait in the car, which he was grateful for, he wasn't sure how much more walking he had in him today.</p><p>She came back out armed with his medicine and other random items that she thought he might want or need. Gatorade, some Tylenol, jello, things like that. He had fallen asleep again so she quietly started the car and headed back to her place.</p><p>Jay was awake by the time Vanessa pulled up in front of their house, and he got out slowly. He took his shoes and jacket off and immediately collapsed onto the couch.</p><p>"Do you want to try some soup? You need to take these pills with food" Vanessa asked from the kitchen.</p><p>"Okay", Jay agreed.</p><p>Vanessa came back out with a bowl of chicken noodle and water. Jay had a few bites and took the pills, hoping he would feel better soon.</p><p>"Thanks for doing this Vanessa", he said quietly.</p><p>She smiled. "I owed you one, we don't need to talk Jay just rest alright?"</p><p>He nodded as he finished his soup and Vanessa went upstairs to bring down a pillow and blanket so he could lie on the couch.</p><p>He got horizontal right away and she tucked him in, making sure he wasn't going to overheat. They were watching something random on Netflix, Jay's eyes closed pretty soon afterwards anyways.</p><p>Vanessa snuck away to make herself some dinner and message Hailey.</p><p>Hey, Jay's alright. Has strep and an ear infection, started his antibiotics and now he's fast asleep on our couch. Hope you don't mind but I just brought him back here, didn't feel right leaving him alone at his place</p><p>Hailey got back to her a few minutes later. Of course, aww that's kind of you Vanessa, thanks for taking care of him. See you guys soon hopefully</p><p>Vanessa smiled and enjoyed her meal, heading upstairs to change and reply to a voicemail Kim left her. It was asking her to join them for drinks tonight, to which Vanessa declined. Kim called her right away.</p><p>"Since when have you turned down having drinks at my place?" She joked.</p><p>Vanessa laughed, "Jay's here. I ended up having to take him to the walk-in clinic today he has strep throat. Currently fast asleep on our couch, can't exactly leave him."</p><p>"Ahhh I see. That sucks. Hopefully he's being a nice patient, he can get a little grumpy when he's sick", Kim warned her.</p><p>Vanessa poked her head around the corner to see Jay still asleep quietly on the couch, she didn't really get that from him at all today.</p><p>"Haha no he's been okay. Everyone's a little grumpy when they aren't feeling well right?"</p><p>"Ya you're right. Talk to you later, tell Jay we hope he feels better!" Kim replied before ending their call.</p><p>The rest of the night was pretty quiet, Jay slept most of the time. Vanessa woke him up once to take some Tylenol because his fever was still not breaking. Vanessa was watching a movie and starting to fall asleep around 11 herself when she heard the front door start to turn.</p><p>Immediately on high alert she sat up on the couch and was ready to grab her weapon. She laughed a little when she heard a key in the latch and was extra relieved and surprised at who walked in.</p><p>"Hailey!" Vanessa exclaimed and got up to give her a hug, immediately trying to quiet her voice so she didn't wake Jay.</p><p>"Hey roomie", the blonde Detective smiled. "Don't you two look like quite the pair", Hailey eluded to Vanessa's black eye and her sick partner passed out on their couch.</p><p>"It's been a week", Vanessa replied, earning a nod and a you can say that again, from Hailey.</p><p>"How is he?" Hailey whispered as she set her bags down in the hallway.</p><p>"He's alright, he's been asleep pretty much since dinner", she replied.</p><p>Hailey tip toed towards the couch and set the back of her hand on Jay's forehead. "He's still really warm", she said concerned.</p><p>"I know, I've given him Tylenol, hopefully the antibiotics kick in soon too."</p><p>"They should", Hailey said as she knelt down next to the couch and gently ran her hand through his hair.</p><p>Vanessa's heart skipped a beat when she saw Hailey kneel down next to Jay and kiss him on the forehead as her fingers played with his hair.</p><p>Jay started to stir at the sound of a very familiar voice and hand on his cheek. He was convinced he was having a fever dream. When he opened his eyes, he still thought his mind was playing tricks on him.</p><p>"Hailey?" He asked confused.</p><p>"Hey partner", she said quietly with a big smile on her face.</p><p>"How did you get back?!" He whispered hoarsely.</p><p>"Shhh", she stroked his forehead. "I'll explain everything. Let's go to bed though okay?"</p><p>Jay sat up slowly and nodded his head at that. He accepted Hailey's outstretched hand to pull himself off the couch. When he stood he immediately used all of his energy and enveloped her in a big hug, holding her there for a minute.</p><p>"My work here is done", Rojas said smugly as she went upstairs to her own bed.</p><p>They both smiled at that. "Come on Jay, bed. For real. You don't look great."</p><p>"I'm better now", he gave her a wink and followed her to get some shut eye.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Couldn't resist a sick Jay and an Upstead reunion in one chapter. Hope everyone enjoys! I forget who I saw post on here about Upstead reminding them of songs off the new Taylor Swift album- but YES AGREED! I've been drowning in nostalgic Taylor feels all week. Have a safe and happy long weekend if you are celebrating like myself here in Canada - K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Sick Day Snuggles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 27</p><p>Hailey draped a blanket around Jay’s shoulders and put a hand on his lower back before they climbed up the stairs to bed together.</p><p>He mumbled his thanks, still trying to shake the chills. </p><p>“Let’s get you to bed”, she whispered as she opened her door.</p><p>She realized that Vanessa had already been in here and had a glass of water, thermometer, Gatorade and Tylenol already set out on Jay’s side of the bed. I lucked out with this girl, she thought.</p><p>She pulled the blankets back and eased Jay under, tucking just the sheets over his shoulders gently.</p><p>“I’m cold”, he whispered.</p><p>“I know, but you have a fever still. You’re going to overheat if you have more blankets”, Hailey said sympathetically as she cupped his cheek. </p><p>“Not exactly how I imagined getting in bed with you on your first night back”, he said jokingly. Hailey snorted in laughter.</p><p>“Same. But I’m here now. We’ll have lots of time to explore once you’re feeling better”, she replied.</p><p>“You’re okay? How are you feeling?” Jay asked as he rolled over in bed to face her.</p><p>“I’m okay thanks. Still feel a bit drained, but it’s been a stressful week so looking forward to just taking it easy”, she smiled. </p><p>“You sure you want to sleep in bed with me? I’m still contagious until these antibiotics kick in”, Jay said hesitantly. The last thing he wanted was to give Hailey strep.</p><p>“Of course Jay, I’m not worried about that just sleep okay?” Hailey said quietly as she gently ran her thumb over his cheek bone.</p><p>He smiled and closed his eyes as Hailey went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She came out a few minutes later to find him snoring already. She quietly turned off the lamp on her night stand and crawled in next to Jay.</p><p>XX</p><p>Their sleep that night was pretty intermittent. Jay was up tossing and turning every so often, uncomfortable with his fever, alternating between hot and cold. <br/>When he was too hot he would whip the blankets off and sprawl out. She didn’t really need the blankets then either, it was like sleeping next to her own personal furnace. She would dab a cool cloth on his forehead every so often and wait for him to fall back asleep. Then half an hour later he would get the chills again and curl up as close as possible to her. She let him rest his head on her chest as she put an arm across his back, pulling him in for a snuggle. She would rub his back every so often to keep him asleep and that seemed to work for a while. </p><p>Morning rolled around and Hailey yawned as she tried to wiggle out from under Jay. Who had conveniently fallen asleep against her side and on her chest. She almost didn’t want to move him, the way his breathing was she could tell he was in a deep sleep, one he most definitely needed. So she stayed that way for a little while, running her hand along his spine and up through his hair. Feeling his cheeks and forehead, it felt like his fever had finally gone down, which was a relief.</p><p>Around 8:30 she felt him start to come to. He slowly raised his head, which was now more against Hailey’s stomach because she managed to wiggle up in bed to have a coffee and watch the news.</p><p>“Hey, how are you feeling?” She asked.</p><p>“A bit better actually”, he confirmed, the pain in his throat starting to subside. </p><p>“Good. Let me check your temperature before you have anything to eat or drink okay?”</p><p>He nodded as she stuck the thermometer in his mouth and waited a minute. “99.6. Still a bit feverish, but not too bad.”</p><p>“I need to shower”, he said, wanting to wash away some of the sickness.</p><p>She smiled, “Okay. There’s a towel in there for you.”</p><p>He got up slowly, evaluating how he was feeling, which was a lot better than the last few days.</p><p>He came back out shortly after, feeling fresh, and more like a functioning member of society, even though he still felt a little achy. </p><p>With just a towel wrapped around his waist, Hailey felt her own cheeks getting a bit warm. She bit her lip to contain herself, He’s sick right now, must control your thoughts. Even though all of the thoughts she had right now were dirty, and involved Jay losing the towel.</p><p>“I see you staring Hailey Anne”, Jay smiled devilishly as he pretended to drop the towel.</p><p>“Jay Halstead the second you are feeling 100 percent, we are 100 percent going to be doing hot things in this bed other than have fevers.”</p><p>He winked at her, before raising an eyebrow and chuckling, causing a bit of a coughing attack.</p><p>She winced, getting up to hand him a glass of water. </p><p>“Did I kill the mood there?” He asked after he caught his breath.</p><p>She scrunched her nose, “Just a little bit. But on the bright side, we can still spend the whole day in bed.”</p><p>“Oh?” Jay questioned.</p><p>“Resting”, Hailey stressed, and followed it with a cute dimpley smile.</p><p>“That sounds good to me”, he smiled back weakly.</p><p>Just as he was finished getting dressed, albeit back into different track pants and a hoodie, Vanessa knocked on the door.</p><p>“Come in”, Hailey said.</p><p>Vanessa came in with a tray full of breakfast goodies, putting a smile on their faces.</p><p>“Room service”, she joked, carrying in some oatmeal and smoothies.</p><p>“Thanks Vanessa, I could have done this”, Hailey said genuinely.</p><p>“Mom and Dad are back and not feeling the greatest. Soooo”, she smiled. Jay laughed at that.</p><p>“Mom and Dad huh”, Hailey said sounding amused.</p><p>“Vanessa has really taken to calling us her parents since you’ve been gone”, he explained to Hailey.</p><p>“I think that means we’re supposed to be taking care of you then”, Hailey laughed.</p><p>“I know I know. But, believe it or not you guys I did fend for myself for many, many years. It’s nice to finally have people in my life that I can call family, and you both have done so much for me. The least I can do when you guys aren’t feeling well. So this is just me looking after you”, Vanessa said almost tearfully.</p><p>Hailey and Jay were quiet for a second, just listening intently. They were both lucky to have Vanessa. </p><p>It was Jay that broke the silence first, “V you don’t owe us anything, you are part of this family now. But this, he motioned to the breakfast, is greatly appreciated”, he gave her a gentle smile that Hailey nodded in agreement with.</p><p>“Good. Plus you need to take more medicine now, with food”, she handed him his pills, and he proceeded to dig in to the oatmeal.</p><p>Vanessa got up to leave as Hailey called her back in, “You aren’t joining us for breakfast?”</p><p>She didn’t really expect them to ask her to join them. </p><p>“Thought you two lovebirds might want some alone time”, she said mischievously.</p><p>“First of all, that is not in the cards for today”, Hailey said motioning to Jay’s medicine and thermometer sitting on her nightstand. He chuckled and nodded in response.</p><p>“Secondly, I need to tell you both my wild story of how I got home. Come join us, plus after we can check if there are any good Saturday morning cartoons on”, Hailey barely said through laughter, Jay unable to hold his giggles in either.</p><p>“Alright, alright, let me go get my coffee”, Vanessa said as she returned a few minutes later and took a seat on the armchair in Hailey’s room.</p><p>Jay had devoured his oatmeal and moved on to the smoothie by the time Vanessa was back. “Mmmm, this feels good on my throat. Thank you”, he told her, feeling hungry for the first time in a few days.</p><p>“You’re welcome”, she smiled. “You feeling better?”</p><p>“A bit yeah, thanks for taking one for the team yesterday”, Jay replied.</p><p>“Any time Halstead”, they raised their coffee and smoothies to each other and clinked in the air. </p><p>“Okay, so… we thought you were going to be stuck in New York…?”, Jay started.</p><p>“Right”, Hailey said setting down her coffee.</p><p>“Will called me the other night after we talked”, she said motioning to Jay who nodded.</p><p>“I was freaking out, naturally. I mean in hindsight, we definitely just had colds. Still lingering. But OA was super sick… like way worse than me. So we were nervous.”<br/>Jay and Vanessa nodded at that, agreeing with the obvious turmoil happening in the world right now. Although Jay had the slightest twinge of jealousy at her recounting her time in New York with her partner there. But Hailey was here now, taking care of him.</p><p>“So we went and got tested, thankfully we were both negative. I asked Will what I should do. He said he was hearing rumblings from the CDC about quarantining and shutting down travel the whole bit. You remember his friend from the CDC who came to Chicago in the fall back when that flesh eating bacteria was here?” They all shuddered at that, not happy memories.</p><p>“Yes”, Jay replied, unsure where this was going.</p><p>“Well, he called in a favour”, Hailey stated.</p><p>“I’m confused”, Vanessa replied, Jay nodded in agreement. </p><p>Hailey laughed. “Turns out, she was flying into Chicago to meet with public health here about all of this. Soooo, Will did some smooth talking and managed to squeeze me on the CDC’s plane.”</p><p>Jay laughed. “Of course he did.”</p><p>“Wait you flew on a private plane here?!” Vanessa laughed incredulously.</p><p>“Ya, what a turn of events huh. I had to fly in full hazmat gear basically and get tested again before I was allowed on, but I wasn’t going to complain about that”, Hailey smiled.</p><p>They spent a few minutes laughing at that, of all the ways she could have got back here, Jay did not think it would have been on a private jet with the CDC.</p><p>“So long story short, I owe Will a biggg favour”, Hailey said candidly.</p><p>Jay smiled, even though he was thinking that it was him that owed his brother a big favour. He would be forever grateful that Will got Hailey out of New York just in time.</p><p>XX</p><p>True to Hailey’s word that morning, her and Jay spent the rest of the day in bed. They went on a Sons of Anarchy binge and didn’t move much other than to go to the bathroom and grab a bite to eat. Jay was asleep on and off because he still wasn’t feeling the greatest, curled tightly against Hailey for much of the afternoon. She would occasionally rub his back if he was restless or talk to him when he was awake.</p><p>They finally got to have a nice meal together, well Hailey had a nice meal with Vanessa more like it. Jay ate some scrambled eggs, and he was finally feeling a lot better at night since the antibiotics had kicked in. His fever had finally broken too.<br/>They got a call from Voight later that night, informing them that the decision had been made to shut things down for two weeks. Not just strictly because of Hailey coming back from New York, but all of them were going to quarantine, out of precaution. Even though they were essential workers, their unit was not deemed essential at the moment. </p><p>At first they were a bit stressed about that, but after talking it over amongst the three of them they were happy that everyone was healthy, they were safe where they were and saw this as an opportunity to spend some quality time together and recharge.</p><p>Vanessa poured herself and Hailey a glass of wine and they all sat together in the living room. </p><p>“None for me?” Jay teased.</p><p>Vanessa laughed, “Not until your antibiotics are finished. I think we’re going to have tons of time to day drink over the next few weeks it looks like.”</p><p>“True, cheers”, Hailey raised a glass to her younger friend. </p><p>The three of them watched a movie by the fire, with Jay eventually finding his way to leaning against Hailey and falling asleep. She had his head cradled against her chest, Vanessa gently throwing a blanket over him.</p><p>“Hey, Kevin is going to come over”, she whispered to Hailey.</p><p>Hailey raised her eyebrows at that, curiously. Initially she didn’t connect the dots.</p><p>All it took was for Rojas to give one smirk back for Hailey to realize what she had missed while she was in New York.</p><p>“What?!” She mouthed stunned, then looking down towards Jay. Suddenly in a panic that Kevin was going to discover her secret too.</p><p>Rojas fluffed her off, “Kev already knows about this”, she motioned to a sleeping Jay. </p><p>Now Hailey was even more perplexed, “I’ll explain later”, Vanessa told her as she saw the glow of Kevin’s headlights pull in front of their house.</p><p>Hailey didn’t really have time to move or adjust herself or Jay so she accepted that Kevin was about to full on walk in on them.</p><p>To his credit, Vanessa opened the door and let him in, being careful not to wake Jay. Kevin stepped in the house giving Hailey a big smile and pointing to Jay snuggled up against her, making a heart with his hands. So cute, he mouthed. Hailey laughed and rolled her eyes. </p><p>“He’s still sick, we’re trying to let him sleep”, Vanessa explained in a hushed voice.</p><p> Kev nodded then headed carefully behind the couch to give Hailey a hug.</p><p>“Welcome back Upton. Glad you’re home safe and sound”, he said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and neck.</p><p>Hailey’s right arm came up to meet Kevin’s, as that’s the only body part she could wriggle free at the moment. </p><p>“Glad to be back”, she whispered.</p><p>“What’s wrong with Halstead?” Kevin asked.</p><p>“Strep, his fever’s finally gone. He’s exhausted though”, Hailey replied, while double checking by lightly touching her hand to his forehead.</p><p>“Mmm, that’s no fun. I’ll leave you two to rest”, Kevin winked, earning another eye roll and smile from Hailey.</p><p>“Ya, we’re gonna talk about this later”, she said pointing to Vanessa in the kitchen.</p><p>“You guys okay? You need anything before we go upstairs?” Vanessa asked, changing the subject.</p><p>“I’m okay thanks, I’m going to let him sleep for a while longer then we’ll probably go up to bed, call it an early night”, Hailey whispered. The fact that Jay was out cold during all of this really showed how much he needed the sleep.</p><p>Vanessa gave a thumbs up and disappeared upstairs with Kevin.</p><p>Hailey finished the movie and sat quietly with Jay for a while before reaching for her phone. She swore under her breath when she realized she had a few missed calls and messages from Will. She called him back right away and was surprised to hear him out of breath like he had been crying, sounding stressed- more than he had been all week.</p><p>“Hailey. I need your help.”</p><p>XX</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another cryptic ending, don’t hate me! I’m having a bit of writers block but hopefully you guys will be happy with this chapter and the ones to come! I’m thinking I will wrap this up in a few chapters, but I’ll have to see what I come up with. Thank you so much for the kind reviews and messages. Hope everyone is happy and healthy &amp; enjoying the last weeks of summer. – K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Four-legged friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 28</p><p>"Will, what's wrong?" She asked panicked, the tone of her voice alone waking Jay up immediately. He sat up and watched as she talked to his brother.</p><p>"Are you with Jay?" He asked ignoring her question.</p><p>"Ya, he's right here on the couch with me. He just woke up he's feeling better than the last few days", she replied.</p><p>"Good, good", Will said nervously, clearly trying to dodge something.</p><p>"You alright Will? You're scaring me", she finally said straight out, feeling Jay's worried eyes on her too.</p><p>There was a pause and a heavy silence.</p><p>"Will do you need help? Are you in trouble?" Hailey trying to run through possible scenarios in her head for him to be behaving this way on the phone. That comment put Jay even more on edge. She rested a hand on his chest to keep his nerves at bay.</p><p>Will was quick to shut that down. "No, nothing like that."</p><p>"Okay, talk to me. What is it Will?"</p><p>"I'm stressed out Hailey", he admitted. She couldn't see the tears welling up on the other end of the phone but she could hear them in his voice.</p><p>"I can't imagine the stress you're under right now Will", she said sympathetically.</p><p>"I just- I, I- it's so bad Hailey. I lost 6 patients today. SIX. Within a few hours of each other, I've never seen anything like this. This is just the beginning, no end in sight…", Will said, starting to ramble.</p><p>Hailey just tried to listen, let him vent. For whatever reason he called her.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, I can't imagine how hard that's been. Deep breaths Will, I'm going to put you on speaker okay, Jay's right here", she said calmly.</p><p>Jay looked confused by what was happening. He cleared his throat and greeted his brother.</p><p>"Will are you alright?" He said a little hoarsely still.</p><p>A long sigh followed by another pause. "Not really Jay. This is bad. Are you guys working through this?!"</p><p>"No we just got word that we're shutting down for a few weeks."</p><p>"Okay good", Will said sounding relieved.</p><p>"What can we do to help you Will?" Hailey interjected.</p><p>"Actually….I do have a favour…You can say no. It's a lot to ask…", Will said.</p><p>"Will, you got me out of New York during a pandemic on a private plane. Say the word", Hailey replied, earning a small chuckle from the other end of the phone.</p><p>"Um, do you think you guys can take Kohl for a while?" Will asked nervously.</p><p>Hailey laughed as Jay creased his eyebrows in surprise. "Will is that all?!" She said.</p><p>"Ya, you can say no if you want. He sheds a bit, and I know you guys are busy. I just am scared to bring something home I won't be able to walk him, and I'm working crazy hours right now it's not fair to him."</p><p>"Will, of course we can take Kohl. I have a backyard here for him and Jay and I are off the next few weeks."</p><p>"Ok good, thank you so much. That's a lot off my plate", Will replied sounding relieved, this time with a sigh of relief.</p><p>"Of course Will, it's not a problem. Kohl is a great snuggler, he'll fit right in to bed with us", Hailey blurted out before realizing her misstep. Jay's mouth went wide open before he covered it with his hand, trying to hide his laughter. Hailey's cheeks were bright red.</p><p>Will laughed on the other end too. "Hmm, bed as in the one you share together. Cool, cool, cool", he said nonchalantly with a hint of a smirk in his voice.</p><p>"You're sworn to secrecy on that William Patrick", Hailey sternly warned him, but didn't deny her slip up.</p><p>"I'm way too tired to comment on this at the moment, but I will most definitely be circling back to this topic another day. Circle of trust though", he sounded pleased with himself.</p><p>"Glad we could make you laugh a little. Take care of yourself okay Will, for real. We'll come get Kohl tomorrow", Hailey replied as she watched Jay yawn and slide down on the couch again.</p><p>"Sounds good. I'm at the hospital until the morning and then I need to sleep for a bit. Is it okay if you come in the afternoon?"</p><p>"Definitely. Just call one of us when you're up. I need to try and convince your brother to sleep too", Hailey said winking at Jay.</p><p>"Good luck with that one, even sick Jay is an early riser", Will replied.</p><p>Jay rolled his eyes, "Ya, ya. Good night Will."</p><p>Their phone call ended, Hailey suggesting they go to bed. Jay didn't have to be persuaded much to fall asleep with her.</p><p>"You feeling okay? You want any medicine?" Hailey asked as she tucked him in, before heading to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.</p><p>Jay shook his head, "No thanks I'm good. Just tired."</p><p>"Okay I'll be back in a few", she said tapping his foot as she passed by on his side of the bed.</p><p>He was fast asleep by the time she got back so she quietly turned in to bed herself and hoped for a quieter night than their last.</p><p>Quiet was maybe the wrong word to hope for. Sure Jay was quiet, but she could feel him squirming about, restless. He wasn't having a nightmare but she could tell he wasn't in as deep of a sleep as she initially thought. At first she tried to ignore it and fall back asleep herself, but when she heard him take a deep breath and hold it in for four seconds, then out for four seconds, and repeat this a few times, she knew she had to get up and check on him.</p><p>"Hey", she whispered as she turned on her side.</p><p>"Hey", he whispered back, trying to put on a brave face.</p><p>"You okay?" She asked, checking his forehead.</p><p>"I'm fine, just feeling a little anxious", he said grabbing her hand in the dark.</p><p>"That's okay, this has been a stressful week. Things are changing, and uncertain, and everything with Will. I'm feeling a little anxious too", she reassured him. Glad he was making use of the square breathing technique his therapist had taught him.</p><p>He nodded, forgetting she couldn't really see him do that in the dark. She ran her thumb over the back of his hand a few times letting him know she understood.</p><p>"Take a few more deep breaths, I got something for you", Hailey said suddenly remembering a spontaneous Amazon purchase she made a few weeks ago that she had tucked in the back of her closet.</p><p>Jay sat up and reached over to turn on the lamp on the bedside table.</p><p>Hailey turned around with a weighted blanket in her hands, dragging it over to her bed because it was too heavy to carry.</p><p>"What's that? Jay asked sceptically, not fully awake enough to comprehend why Hailey was struggling to carry what looked like a regular blanket.</p><p>"It's a weighted blanket. I read that it was supposed to help with anxiety…", she said cautiously, not wanting to offend him. Jay could sometimes be a little testy about the whole anxiety thing.</p><p>"Oh", the realization dawned on him. He had always wanted to try one of these, but chickened out buying them in the store. Not wanting to be judged for buying one, which he realized was silly, but he had just never gone through with it.</p><p>"I can put it away if you don't want it…", she said.</p><p>"No, I want to try it. Thank you Hailey", Jay quickly replied, not wanting her to think he wasn't appreciative of that. Not to mention everything else she usually does to help him when he's having a hard time.</p><p>He smiled at her, which she softly returned.</p><p>Once it was over him he felt an immediate difference. "Whoa", he said, feeling better almost immediately.</p><p>"What's wrong, do you want it off?" She said sounding alarmed.</p><p>"No I like it", he said, surprised with how the weight seemingly decreased the pressure he felt in his chest.</p><p>"Oh, good", she said, not wanting to sound too enthused either way. For Jay to try something it often had to be on his own terms.</p><p>"I could have used this last week when I slept here", he blurted out.</p><p>Hailey looked confused by that. "You sure you don't have a fever again?" She laughed. "When did you sleep here last week…"</p><p>"Oh Rojas didn't tell you", Jay smiled, confirming his thoughts on Vanessa's trustworthiness.</p><p>"Tell me what…", Hailey asked curiously.</p><p>"I wasn't sleeping very well after you left for New York. And by not well I mean not really at all….So Vanessa being the young, inquisitive cop that she is noticed that. She told me I could sleep in your bed the one night after Molly's because it might help. It did, except I had a nightmare and her and Kevin heard…", Jay told the story.</p><p>"Wait what?!" Hailey exclaimed.</p><p>"Sorry I should have asked if I could sleep in your bed…it was sort of a spontaneous thing…", Jay started.</p><p>"No, not about that. I don't care that you slept here, I'm glad you did if that made you feel better", Hailey said waving him off. "Go back to the Kevin part!"</p><p>Jay laughed, "Haha, ya. I knew about that before you did. Jealous?" He teased.</p><p>"A little", Hailey grinned. "Tell me everything!"</p><p>"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Vanessa didn't betray my trust, so I won't betray hers. I'm sure she'll tell you, since I heard Kevin come in tonight", he added slyly.</p><p>"Thought you were asleep", Hailey smiled.</p><p>"You know how light of a sleeper I am", Jay chuckled.</p><p>"True. Okay well that is interesting information. Do you think it's serious?"</p><p>"Maybe, I don't know much honestly other than he slept here the night I did. I'm sure he also heard the nightmare thing…only Vanessa came in though. She was actually really nice about it. I wasn't sure I would connect with her when she first joined the unit, but she's really grown on me", Jay admitted.</p><p>"Aww, Jay Halstead, you big softie for our daughter", Hailey joked.</p><p>"Such a dad move I know", he winked.</p><p>"Do you think we should make them breakfast tomorrow", Hailey laughed.</p><p>"I think that would be an excellent idea. Interrogate them, ask him about his intentions on dating Vanessa…", Jay added, fully embracing the dad role.</p><p>"Ya if he thinks he's going to be dating our daughter…there's going to be some rules", Hailey replied, going along with the joke.</p><p>"Exactly", Jay smirked, secretly enjoying the idea of having a daughter with Hailey.</p><p>They stayed up for a little while longer, just talking about random things. Catching up on the time they had lost while she was in New York.</p><p>Hailey was in the middle of a story about her first week with the FBI when she looked over and saw Jay passed out again, a faint snore coming from his side of the bed.</p><p>She smiled and turned the lamp off, sneaking back under the covers and into a deep slumber.</p><p>They didn't set an alarm, for the first time in what felt like forever. Hailey woke up feeling refreshed. She looked over, surprised to see her partner still fast asleep. She double checked the time, 9 am. It was unusual for Jay to sleep in this late, but he was still getting over being sick and looked peaceful so she let him be. She got up and quietly freshened up and headed to the kitchen for some coffee.</p><p>She had to smile when she turned the corner, walking in on Vanessa and Kevin making breakfast in the kitchen. They had music playing softly in the background, dancing around and enjoying themselves.</p><p>"Ahem", Hailey announced herself.</p><p>Kevin spun around without missing a beat, taking one of her hands and twirling her around the kitchen.</p><p>Hailey laughed, she loved Kevin, forever the outgoing, giant teddy bear that he was.</p><p>Before she could move past him, he enveloped her in a warm hug, which she reciprocated with a tight squeeze.</p><p>"Well good morning to you too Kev", she smiled, reaching for a coffee mug.</p><p>"Welcome back Detective, wasn't able to give you a proper hug last night since you were all snuggled up to Halstead", he said slyly.</p><p>She rolled her eyes playfully.</p><p>"Is he still sleeping?" Vanessa asked surprised.</p><p>"He is, trying to let him catch up", she replied.</p><p>"He's feeling better? That man never sleeps in", Kevin added.</p><p>"I think so, he must need it", Hailey replied, the two of them agreeing.</p><p>Jay heard laughter from the kitchen as he was coming down the stairs about half an hour later. He had an amazing sleep with that blanket Hailey got him, he had to thank her for that later.</p><p>"Well, well, well it's about time you joined us", Kevin joked.</p><p>Jay smirked at the three of them sitting around the kitchen table, having a real Sunday morning family breakfast.</p><p>"Needed my beauty rest", Jay replied before seeing Hailey get up from her seat.</p><p>Kevin told him there was breakfast for him keeping warm in the oven. Jay and Hailey shared a brief glance, laughing at their breakfast interrogation talk last night.</p><p>Hailey was reaching for a mug to pour him a coffee when Jay came up from behind and gently grabbed her wrist.</p><p>"I can do that babe", he said so easily and freely that it made Hailey's heart skip a beat.</p><p>Hailey turned to face him, trapped against the counter with both of his hands on either side of her, his eyes flashed with a second of panic when he remembered they had an audience.</p><p>"Okay", she smiled, they were so close together she held her gaze on his messy hair.</p><p>He pulled her in closer for a hug, she almost hesitated because of her usual aversion to PDA. But as soon as she felt his arms around her she melted into him. His chin rested on the top of her head for a minute, before planting a kiss in her hair.</p><p>"Jay Halstead a hugger, who knew", Kevin sat at the kitchen table in awe.</p><p>"Figured if we were all being honest now, we would let the cat out of the bag", Jay reasoned, no longer feeling the need to hide his relationship with Hailey.</p><p>Hailey nodded showing her agreement, it was time. If they were going to be quarantining together, their secret was going to come fully out.</p><p>"Oh we knew about this, but we didn't really know, you know?" Kevin asked out loud to no one in particular.</p><p>Jay and Hailey shook their heads in laughter, and joined Vanessa and Kevin for breakfast.</p><p>The four of them had a slow morning, enjoying some quality time, time that they did not usually have with each other.</p><p>"Also you guys, we have something to tell you", Hailey said, looking at the time and remembering they had to go to Will's this afternoon.</p><p>"You're married?" Kevin asked.</p><p>"Very funny, you know we would have invited you guys", Jay replied, another slip of his inner thoughts.</p><p>Hailey and Vanessa shared a look at that one, the younger of the two raising her eyebrows cheekily.</p><p>"Will called last night. He's feeling really overwhelmed with work and life right now so we're going to take his dog Kohl for him for a few weeks. Maybe more, we're not sure yet", Hailey said, mostly directly it at Vanessa.</p><p>"You're getting me a dog! Best day ever mom and dad!" Vanessa jokingly jumped up to put her arms around Hailey and Jay.</p><p>That made everyone laugh, especially Jay. Kevin noticed his smile was brighter today, Hailey being back really was good for him.</p><p>"Is that okay? I realized I don't actually know how you feel about pets, but this is urgent so I told him it was fine", Hailey asked, slightly embarrassed she didn't consider her roommates feelings before saying yes.</p><p>"Of course that's okay, more than okay. I love dogs, really. And anything to help your brother out right now, I can't imagine Jay…", Vanessa replied, Jay nodding as well.</p><p>He felt Hailey's hand on his leg again, this time to ground him.</p><p>"Will's going to be alright, this is just to help take something off of his plate right now", Hailey replied, suddenly feeling the tension in the air. All four of them realizing how serious this global pandemic really was, it was creeping into Chicago along with the rest of the world it seemed.</p><p>"Just have to stay positive, and control the things in our life that we can control. Wash our hands, do our part to stay home for now and use this time to grow together", Kevin wisely said.</p><p>"Exactly", "Cheers to that", they all echoed before getting up to clean the dishes and get on with their day.</p><p>Hailey washed her sheets, did laundry from her trip and cleaned the rest of their house before lunch. Jay was still taking it easy and was watching old sports highlights with Kevin in the living room. Vanessa was baking something in the kitchen. They went from just the two of them to four, and soon to be a dog. Full quarantine house, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited though.</p><p>She heard from Will a few hours later, who called her to say he was awake. Although that sounded like it couldn't be further from the truth based on his sleepy voice.</p><p>"Alright Jay and I are on our way", she said and hung up.</p><p>They got into Hailey's car since Jay had been drive here by Vanessa a few days ago. They made the silent trip over to Will's, feeling sad that they wouldn't be able to hug him or get close. Will made that very clear on the phone that they needed to distance, and he would leave a bag of Kohl's stuff on the sidewalk and let Kohl run to them when they got there.</p><p>"Seems a bit extreme", Jay mumbled. Him and Will weren't really the hugging type per say, but in times like this…he secretly wanted one from his brother.</p><p>"Will knows what he's talking about, and if that's what we have to do for now…so be it", Hailey replied.</p><p>Jay shot her a look, Hailey saw it out of the corner of her eye.</p><p>"I don't like it either Jay, I want to hug your brother too, he was practically crying to me on the phone last night. He's stressed out", she said gently.</p><p>"This just sucks, all of it", he said quietly.</p><p>"I know, but it will pass. Let's put on a brave face for Will okay?"</p><p>He agreed with her and tried to do just that as they got out of her car and saw Will standing there behind the glass doors of his apartment, kneeling down and petting Kohl.</p><p>Will gave them a soft wave and one last cuddle with Kohl, looking a little teary when he pulled away and opened the door for the dog to run to Hailey and Jay.</p><p>"How are you Will?" Hailey asked from a distance.</p><p>"I'm alright, had a better sleep this morning. Needed it", he laughed trying to make light of the situation.</p><p>"How are you feeling Jay? Better still be taking those antibiotics", Will scolded.</p><p>Jay smiled, "Feeling a lot better. And yes still taking those Dr. Halstead."</p><p>"Good, good", Will put his hands in his pockets, watching Kohl wag his tail and run over to the two of them.</p><p>"Kohly, wohly", Hailey coo'ed as she rubbed his belly and smiled.</p><p>"I think he's going to get along just fine with you guys", Will smiled. "This is just temporary I promise, I just need a break…"</p><p>"Don't worry about it Will, Kohl can stay with us as long as you want", Hailey quickly replied.</p><p>"Okay thanks guys, seriously this means a lot…", Will was starting to get emotional.</p><p>"Will please don't cry, you're going to make me cry", Hailey said softly, feeling for him. Jay looked at both of them, thinking this was harder than he thought it was going to be. He could probably count on one hand the times he's seen Will this distraught and stressed out, it was an unsettling feeling.</p><p>"It's going to be okay Will, get some sleep you'll feel better. This will pass", Jay spoke up and said what Hailey was struggling to.</p><p>"Vanessa made some banana bread, we'll leave it on the curb", Jay said motioning to the Tupperware container and set it down. Sensing Will needed a subject change or else he was going to lose it.</p><p>"Thanks", Will said softly wiping a stray tear.</p><p>They awkwardly stood back and gave Will space to pick up the bread and then parted ways.</p><p>"Call me if anything happens with him or you want to bring him back", Will said from the curb as he watched Kohl perch his head on Jay's shoulder from the backseat.</p><p>Hailey chuckled, "I don't think he's going to cause any trouble", she said as he licked Jay's ear, causing him to burst out laughing.</p><p>"Have fun with Uncle Jay and Aunt Hailey Kohl", Will yelled, and they all smiled.</p><p>They waved goodbye and drove off, Hailey catching a sad glimpse of a defeated Will in her rear view.</p><p>Hailey's eyes started to well up and she bit her lip trying to contain herself.</p><p>"Hailey, Will's going to be fine, don't worry", he said half laughing and half trying to convince himself of his own statement.</p><p>"I know, I'm being silly. I just feel sad for him. He looked so down. And now we took his dog, his only friend at home…", Hailey felt the tears start rolling.</p><p>Jay felt a twinge of sadness and guilt over that too. As much as Kohl was an added responsibility for Will right now, he was also definitely a source of comfort and way to decompress too.</p><p>Jay put his hand on her thigh, "Will is going to be okay. We have to tell ourselves that or else we're just going to get stressed out too. He needs to focus on himself and work right now, Kohl is going to be a fun roomie."</p><p>She smiled a bit at that, feeling Jay's hand come up to wipe her tears. They were stopped at a red light so he leaned over to kiss her cheek and she reached over to reciprocate.</p><p>They laughed when Kohl wanted in on it too, licking both of their faces, wagging his tail because he loved car rides.</p><p>"Okay Kohl, what do you say we go home and go for a nice walk", Hailey said. That earned a big tail wag and practically a leap into the front seat.</p><p>Things were uncertain and stressful, but their four-legged friend was certainly helping calm the nerves.</p><p>Hailey had made a detour to Jay's apartment so that he could grab more clothes, as he was going to be staying over for the foreseeable future.</p><p>"You moving in Jay Halstead?" She teased at all the stuff he brought out.</p><p>"Hey, hey, hey. Your idea remember", his eyes twinkled as they talked about moving in together. Sure it was just because of this and likely temporary, but he still got butterflies in his stomach thinking about the possibility.</p><p>"I know, just teasing. Come on roomie", she said as she helped put his stuff in her trunk.</p><p>"Roomie has a nice ring to it partner", he winked.</p><p>"Mhmm, this is your trial run", she quipped back.</p><p>"Trial run, Hailey Anne. How forward of you", he said jokingly in awe.</p><p>She rolled her eyes and mocked him replying back, "I'll even let you sleep in my bed, even though we aren't married."</p><p>"Yet", Jay scoffed before he could stop himself and saw Hailey's eyes go wide.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Yet" haha a good way to describe all things Upstead. I am dying for them to start filming again, fingers crossed they are able to soon. Hope everyone is happy and healthy! Thank you for all of the support and nice comments on this story - K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Domestic Bliss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Last bit of this chapter is rated M for…well you know ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 29</p><p>He felt Hailey nearly slam on the brakes and tried to hold back a smirk, even though he was a little scared that he just put that out there. Maybe that was too far.</p><p>“Yet”, she said calmly, trying not to react too much either way, he saw her small moment of surprise before she reigned herself in though. He had to admit she was good at keeping a poker face, just given the nature of her job title. But he knew her so well. That made him smirk even more.</p><p>“Ya Hailey Halstead has a nice ring to it don’t you think?” Jay replied testing the waters.</p><p>She quickly recovered and gave him a sultry smile, it made him want to pull the car over right then and there.</p><p>“Who says I’m taking your last name”, she grinned cheekily, batting her eyes, and raising an eyebrow in his direction.</p><p>Now it was Jay that was at a loss for words. His mouth practically hanging open.</p><p>“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue Jay?” She bit her lip, holding in her own laughter.</p><p>He shook his head and smiled, a slight blush in his cheeks.</p><p>“Nope, just good to know where you stand on that Hailey Anne”, he said shyly.</p><p>She nodded knowingly, finishing with a wink, “We’re always on the same page Jay Alexander.”</p><p>They left it at that, the remainder of the car ride filled with a comfortable silence.</p><p>XX</p><p>Kohl was so excited when they stopped the car in front of Hailey and Vanessa’s place. </p><p>“You’ve never been here before huh buddy”, Hailey pet him as they got out of the car.</p><p>Vanessa opened the front door and called him over right away, Kohl running around in circles, wagging his tail and begging her for belly rubs.</p><p>“He’s really shy as you can tell”, Jay laughed as the two women gave Kohl all the attention that they could.</p><p>“He is so cute Jay I cannot”, Vanessa could not stop staring at their new furry friend.</p><p>“He’s a good dog, it will be nice to have him here”, he replied.</p><p>“So is it official?” Vanessa asked.</p><p>“Is what official?” Jay asked as him and Hailey carried bags in.</p><p>“Are you moving in?” She asked innocently. “Like…for real.”</p><p>Jay grinned and looked back at Hailey, “It’s my two week trial run apparently.”</p><p>Vanessa’s expression went from smug to shocked in a hot second.</p><p>“Okay then, I mean I was half kidding…But you guys are clearly way ahead of me”, she smiled, pleasantly surprised at this development between the two of them.</p><p>“And his first test is making dinner”, Hailey joked as she passed Jay in the hallway.</p><p>“I suppose I can do that, you’ve both taken care of me the last few days”, he said.</p><p>“About time”, Vanessa muttered under her breath.</p><p>“Huh?” Jay asked her.</p><p>“Nothing”, she said angelically, Hailey heard though.</p><p>“Where’s Kev?” Jay changed the subject.</p><p>“He had to go home…something with Jordan. Not sure, it sounded serious. I don’t think he’s coming back tonight. We’re going to reconvene tomorrow…depending I guess”, Vanessa vaguely replied.</p><p>“Hmm, okay. Did he seem alright?” Hailey asked concerned.</p><p>“He did, his brother I’m not sure to be honest…I’ll let you know if I hear anything”, Vanessa said.</p><p>The three of them were quiet for a second before dispersing, not pushing further with that conversation. Jay brought his stuff upstairs and Hailey put Kohl’s leash on to take him for a quick stroll around the block.</p><p>She came back in the house to the smell of bacon cooking on the stove.</p><p>“Mmm what do we have here?” She asked curiously as she snuck up behind Jay, who seemed to not hear her come in because he jumped out of his skin.</p><p>“Sorry”, she quickly apologized, she was trying to be cute but forgot Jay didn’t like being snuck up on.</p><p>“It’s alright”, he brushed it off, but when she wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her cheek on his back she heard his heart racing a mile a minute.</p><p>Her right arm came up from under his and she gently put her hand on his chest, his hand followed and rested on top of hers. He calmed down almost immediately.</p><p>“Thanks”, he whispered.</p><p>“You’re welcome”, she replied, also noticing that he had changed into comfortable clothes. A simple black hoodie and grey sweat pants…but he wore them well.</p><p>“I love when you wear those”, she said dangerously low, sneaking around to his side view, giving him the look.</p><p>Jay seemed to catch on to what she was implying, looking over his shoulder. “If Vanessa wasn’t home right now…”, he trailed off biting his lip. His eyes tracing Hailey’s body.</p><p>She felt a primal urge rise in lower abdomen. Feeling bold, she moved closer to him, her fingers just barely grazing the top of his waist band. </p><p>He let out a low moan, “Hailey…”</p><p>There was a fire behind her eyes that made him want to clear her kitchen counter and continue this right here and now. She smirked when she felt him grow at her touch.</p><p>“Later…”, she whispered in his ear, sneaking a piece of bacon from his other side.</p><p>Jay smiled and went to smack her hand away, “That’s for dinner”, he pretended to scold.</p><p>“Mmm, I could go for some dessert right now”, she said tempting him even further.</p><p>“You know I haven’t um properly welcomed you home…on account of you having a cold and me having strep…But I think we’re both over that now wouldn’t you say?” He teased.</p><p>“I would say so yes…”, Hailey flashed her dimples at him.</p><p>“Breakfast isn’t going to be the only thing I’m eating for dinner”, he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ears, sending a shiver down her spine. The corner of Hailey’s lip curled into a devilish grin.</p><p>Their faces were moving closer and closer together, Jay’s hand cupping the back of Hailey’s head, when they heard a bark at their feet. They both jumped and then separated, quickly laughing at the fact that Kohl had moved in between them, wanting some attention.</p><p>“You jealous buddy?” Jay laughed and knelt down to pet him. Kohl sitting and looking at Hailey, almost giving her a goofy smile, with his tongue hanging out. She snuck him a piece of bacon, to which she received a big sloppy kiss for.</p><p>“Guess we’ll have to pick this up later”, Hailey grinned.</p><p>“Oh definitely”, Jay immediately confirmed.</p><p>“Go grab Vanessa, foods ready”, Jay told Hailey.</p><p>Vanessa came into the kitchen a few minutes later, completely unaware at the hook up that was about to happen. </p><p>She smelled the bacon and greedily filled her plate with the breakfast spread.</p><p>“Breakfast for dinner, okay Halstead, I’m a fan”, Vanessa chimed in once they were all sitting at the table.</p><p>“It’s Hailey’s favourite”, he smiled, looking towards his partner.</p><p>“You passed the test”, Hailey mumbled with a mouth full of food.</p><p>They finished their dinner, cleared the table and the dishes and went to the couch to relax and digest their food.</p><p>Jay still couldn’t drink because of the antibiotics so he had a tea instead as the girls had a glass of wine to unwind.</p><p>Kohl hopped up on the couch, immediately curling into Jay. He seemed a bit sad after dinner, maybe missing his dad. Jay stroked the top of his head, the dog was a calming presence for him too.</p><p>They were interrupted by a Facetime from Will. Hailey picked up right away in case something was wrong. </p><p>“Hey Will”, Hailey said into the phone, Jay giving her a why didn’t he call me face.</p><p>“Hey Hails”, he replied.</p><p>“Everything okay?” She could tell he was at work.</p><p>“Yeah everything’s all good. Was just checking in about Kohl”, he said.</p><p>As soon as the dog heard Will say his name his ears perked up and his tailed wagged.</p><p>“Oh he’s been a total rascal, chewing everything, barking loudly”, Hailey said with a semi serious face.</p><p>“What really? I’m so sorry that’s really unlike him, I’ll pay for whatever he wrecked”, Will said sounding shocked.</p><p>Hailey immediately started laughing, “Will I’m just kidding. Look at this”, she turned her camera to Jay sitting beside her who waved to his brother. Kohl was curled up practically in Jay’s lap, half asleep but half excited to hear his dad’s voice.</p><p>“He’s a big suck”, Jay said, accompanying his statement with a very appreciated ear scratch.</p><p>Will chuckled, “Your poker face is good Hailey. Scared me for a second.”</p><p>“Will I am a Detective”, she said with a sarcastic eye roll.</p><p>“True. Must be the nerves talking”, he said somewhat solemnly.</p><p>“How’s it going Will?” Jay asked, the three of them carefully eyeing the tired doctor.</p><p>He exhaled, knowing he couldn’t hide much from them. “It’s hell. But we’re doing our best.”</p><p>“We’re proud of you Will”, Vanessa said, easing the silence in their living room.</p><p>“Thanks Vanessa, try to keep these two in line okay”, Will joked.</p><p>“Always”, she laughed.</p><p>They ended the call and returned to their movie, Jay eyeing Hailey as soon as the credits ended, feigning a yawn.</p><p>“Bed time?” Hailey asked, trying to hide a smile from Vanessa.</p><p>“Hmm ya, still catching up on sleep”, Jay said, really playing it up, even though he was feeling fine.</p><p>“Okay, I’m going to let Kohl out once more and meet you upstairs”, she said, getting their plan rolling. Vanessa didn’t seem to catch on.</p><p>“Night Jay”, she said as he started up the stairs, too into her phone to notice what they were really sneaking off to do.</p><p>“Night V”, he replied, winking at Hailey before disappearing up the staircase.</p><p>They did not go to sleep right away.</p><p>XX</p><p>The next few days and nights were much of the same. Hailey and Jay had settled into a domestic bliss, a new routine, which they were quite enjoying. Jay would get up first, make them coffee and breakfast, Rojas was usually on lunch and snack duty and Hailey loved making dinner. They filled their time in between with puzzles, movies and games. They walked Kohl every morning and night, and did yoga in the living room for exercise. Jay was finally able to have a drink since he was finished with his antibiotics, and he was definitely enjoying that again. They usually spent their evenings by the fire with a whisky as the early spring days were still chilly. </p><p>Hailey didn’t say it to either of them, but this was the closest thing to family time that she could dream of. Jay “moving in” wasn’t that big of a production at all, he fit in no problem. That wasn’t a surprise to her, they spent most of their waking hours together anyways. But putting a label on these sorts of things sometimes came with insecurities.</p><p>Vanessa had been suspiciously quiet for the past few days, Kevin never came back over. She told them it was because he had been with his brother and was being mindful of quarantine, which they both understood no problem. Hailey and Jay had been in touch with him, and the rest of the team and nothing seemed to alert them to anything. Vanessa just couldn’t shake this feeling though, that something wasn’t right.</p><p>Her thoughts were interrupted when Hailey yelled that dinner was ready. </p><p>“If being a detective doesn’t work out for you, I think you’d have a chance in the restaurant business”, Vanessa praised as she inhaled the seafood and pasta spread on her plate. Jay quickly seconded that, just as he got up to fill his plate with seconds.</p><p>“Thanks guys, years of practice”, she smiled and sipped her wine.</p><p>After dinner they went into the living room where Jay was working on sorting through old photos of his and putting them in albums. Vanessa snorted when she found out about that.</p><p>“Showing your age huh Jay. Having actual photos and albums”, she giggled.</p><p>“Something about having old pictures, I don’t keep as many with just having them on my phone these days”, he replied with a smile.</p><p>“It’s true. I used to print so many and now I hardly have any current ones”, Hailey added.</p><p>Jay grinned and pulled out his phone. “Okay, the two of you get in.”<br/>He started taking a few of the girls, acting as their photographer.</p><p>“Your turn”, Vanessa got up from the couch, getting Jay to switch with her. The two partners smiled bashfully at each other.</p><p>“Your first couple photo”, she stated. They both gave her a look.</p><p>“Well first official one anyways”, she laughed as they cracked smiles too.</p><p>Jay grabbed his phone back from her and got the three of them in a selfie. Another with Kohl as he wanted in on the action too and managed to jump on the couch and wiggle his way into the frame.</p><p>“Cute”, Hailey smiled as he showed her and Vanessa. “Send that to Will.”</p><p>They continued on with their night, Hailey trying to respect his privacy and not rifle through his old photos. He showed her a few from growing up, his army days and early Intelligence shots. He was surprisingly open about all of it, which was a huge step from when she first met him.</p><p>“What?” He asked with a smile as he caught her staring at him.</p><p>She shook her head and smiled back, “I wish we would have told each other sooner.”</p><p>He made eye contact with her, completely understanding what she meant by that.</p><p>“Me too, but we’re here now. And I plan on enjoying every second of it with you”, he leaned over to give her a kiss. </p><p>“Wanna go upstairs?” He whispered in her ear.</p><p>She looked around, realizing the Vanessa coast was clear.</p><p>“Yes”, she laughed as he went to race her to the bedroom.</p><p>XX</p><p>A few hours later, after they had gone to bed, Jay rolled over to find Hailey staring at him. </p><p>“Round 2?” She whispered as she let her hands wander underneath the waistband of his briefs. </p><p>“Mmmm”, he groaned as she gently ran her index finger along his very inner thigh. </p><p>“Hailey, are you trying to kill me?” He joked. He couldn’t exactly lie to her, he knew she felt his excitement, it was even hotter that she was touching him as she was looking right in his eye. </p><p>“Well?” She said coyly.</p><p>“Well”… Jay maintained eye contact while reaching under the blankets, instantly growing in size as he realized she wasn’t wearing any underwear at all. </p><p>“You’re wet already babe”, he said with a yearning.</p><p>“I know, I’ve been waiting for you”, she replied.</p><p>That was all it took for him to flip her on her back as he got on top, kissing his way from her neck, over her collarbone, pausing to spend some time at her other sensitive areas. She giggled and moaned, throwing her head back as he pleased her there too. </p><p>Jay licked his lips, his eyes shooting up to her, grabbing her leg and throwing it up over his shoulder.</p><p>This was a new position, she thought. She liked it. </p><p>A few minutes later as she was nearing the finish line all she could think about was how much she really liked this position. “Jay!” She screamed as she bit her lip, coming undone around him.</p><p>Jay collapsed next to her, panting as he finished in sync with her.</p><p>“We’re getting pretty good at this”, he said confidently.</p><p>“Mhmm”, was all Hailey could say, still trying to catch her breath and come down from the intense pleasure she just felt.</p><p>Like all other aspects of his life, Jay was an overachiever in the bedroom too. He was a gentle, but thorough lover. Which Hailey had no complaints about, she was enjoying exploring his body too, learning what made him tick. Taking their relationship to this stage wasn’t awkward at all, they fell into place and bed with ease. It helped that they already knew each other so well, now it was just up to them to figure out the physical side of it. Which they were doing a lot of lately. </p><p>“Okay now we have to go to bed for real”, Jay laughed and kissed her again before rolling over and closing his eyes. Hailey came back from the bathroom and curled up against him, thinking about how perfect life was at this very moment, and that not much could change that, even through all of the uncertainty.</p><p>XX</p><p>Her footsteps were quiet, yet quick. She raced down the hall, not bothering to knock on the door. It was late, there was no way they were awake.</p><p>She tried Hailey first, with no luck. She was out cold, and a normally deep sleeper. She was surprised Jay wasn’t awake, but she knew how to be quiet around him while he was asleep.</p><p>“Jay, Jay”, she gently said in the darkness.</p><p>“Mmm, Hailey…again?” Jay mumbled, half asleep, sounding confused and slightly annoyed. His internal clock knew it wasn’t time to get up yet, it had to be around 5 in the morning.</p><p>“No, it’s Vanessa”, she said panicked now, the reality setting in and her initial shock wearing off.</p><p>“Vanessa?” Jay sat up sounding more alert, turning a lamp on, rubbing his eyes.</p><p>“What’s wrong”, he quickly added, after taking in the distraught expression on her face.</p><p>“Kevin called”, she took a deep breath in.</p><p>“Okay…”, Jay said encouraging her to continue, nervous by her calm yet emotional silence.</p><p>“Jordan’s dead”, she said, bursting into tears.</p><p>XX</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another cruel cliffhanger, I can’t help myself! Thank you for continuing to read and support this story, I love seeing all of your reviews. - K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. The New Normal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 30</p><p>“What?” Jay repeated, bewildered, making sure he had heard Vanessa correctly.</p><p>“I, I- don’t know. I don’t know what happened. There was a drive by shooting that’s all Kevin managed to get out over the phone before he…”, Vanessa sat at the edge of the bed sobbing.</p><p>By this point Jay had gotten out of bed and put a shirt on, nudging Hailey awake.</p><p>“Okay. Wow. This is….a shock. Where is Kevin right now?” Jay asked calmly, sitting next to Vanessa at the end of Hailey’s bed.</p><p>Hailey came to a minute later at the sound of voices in her room.</p><p>“What’s going on?” She sat up and looked around, confused.</p><p>Jay looked at Vanessa then looked back at Hailey.</p><p>“Kevin called, Jordan was shot and killed tonight in a drive by”, Jay said honestly, still trying to make sense of the words coming out of his mouth.</p><p>Hailey shot out of bed. “What?!”</p><p>Jay looked at her rather helplessly, trying to console a distraught Vanessa.</p><p>Hailey snapped out of it and joined him at the end of the bed next to her roommate. It didn’t matter that the two of them were half naked, Vanessa didn’t even seem to notice that.</p><p>“What should we do? What should I do?” Vanessa kept asking in between choking out tears.</p><p>Hailey sat there, completely frozen. She didn’t know what to do either. Kevin had been through so much with his siblings already, now losing his brother. </p><p>“I don’t know V. We have to support Kevin, he needs us- he needs you right now”, Jay said, taking over for a tongue-tied Hailey.</p><p>“Mhmm, Jay’s right. We’re going to do everything we can”, she replied quietly. </p><p>In reality, they didn’t really know what they were going to be able to do. Because of the pandemic, things were shutdown, they were all supposed to be in quarantine. The hospitals weren’t letting visitors in, not that they really wanted to go there right now anyways. </p><p>“I’m going to call Will”, Jay told them softly, and snuck out of the room, grasping at straws as to what they could do.</p><p>XX</p><p>Vanessa had calmed down enough to the point where she was able to tell Hailey what was going on with Kevin these last few weeks.</p><p>“Jordan got himself into a bad situation. Drugs, neighbourhood gang. Kevin was trying to get him out, but they knew his brother was a cop. So I’m assuming they..”, Vanessa explained. Hailey didn’t need to hear anymore, sadly she did know what happened in those situations. She’s seen it too many times before.</p><p>“I’m so sorry Vanessa. I don’t even know what to say”, Hailey replied sympathetically, feeling so sad for Kevin.</p><p>Jay walked back into the bedroom. “Just talked to Will. He couldn’t tell me too much because of HIPPA. But he did say that they let Kevin in, and he was able to say goodbye.”</p><p>It was quiet in their bedroom, you could hear a pin drop. Vanessa and Hailey nodded at that. They had some comfort knowing that Kevin was able to see Jordan at least.</p><p>“So what now?” Vanessa asked.</p><p>Jay spoke up because he could see Hailey was still in shock.</p><p>“Will said that they set Kevin up with the grief counselor and sent someone in to help him make arrangements. But that was earlier, and as far as he can tell Kev went home.”</p><p>“Does Voight know?” Hailey asked.</p><p>Jay bit his lip, raising his eyebrows. “I’m not sure to be honest, I don’t think that’s our place to tell him.”</p><p>“Agreed”, she replied, staring at Vanessa who had stopped crying.</p><p>“I think I’m going to go over there”, Vanessa stated.</p><p>“To Kevin’s?” Jay asked.</p><p>“Yes. I know we’re supposed to be staying here and not seeing anyone else…but…”</p><p>“Absolutely, this is an extenuating circumstance. We can drive you over”, Jay said.</p><p>Vanessa nodded, picking herself up off the bed and heading to her room to pack, making the decision that she needed to be with Kevin, not Hailey and Jay for a while.</p><p>XX</p><p>The drive over to Kevin’s place was silent, the streets of Chicago were eerily deserted. Usually by now, morning rush hour would have taken over, Lakeshore drive a nightmare. But it was quiet, and Hailey found herself staring out at Lake Michigan, feeling a strange calmness wash over her at the sight of the open water.</p><p>They had dropped Vanessa off, without seeing Kevin. They agreed it might be too much for him right now and were trying to stick to the current social distancing rules. Jay’s truck was just as silent with the two of them as it was when Vanessa was in the back.</p><p>“I can’t believe that”, Hailey broke the tension.</p><p>“I know”, Jay said shaking his head. “We should get something organized for Kev.”</p><p>She just nodded, still staring out the window, trying to hide the tear rolling down her cheek.</p><p>Voight had called them that morning, having heard the news from Kevin himself.</p><p>“I want you to come into the district, I know we said we weren’t doing that. But I think this is an emergency.”</p><p>They made a quick detour to head towards the station, meeting up with Kim and Adam in the parking lot. The two of them looked like they had been up all night crying. They greeted each other with a small wave and head nod. </p><p>Jay stood outside for a minute to talk to Adam and Kim. Hailey decided to give them a minute since they had known Kevin for longer. She walked up the stairs to see Trudy at the front desk as usual. </p><p>“Where’s your other half?” She asked innocently.</p><p>“He’s just outside talking with Kim and Adam”, Hailey replied without thinking.</p><p>Trudy raised an eyebrow and gave her a devilish grin. “I was talking about Vanessa, but okay that works too. Good to know where you stand with Detective Chuckles.”</p><p>Hailey’s mouth dropped open, feeling a small smile creep across her face. Then she snapped out of it, realizing that Trudy didn’t know about Kevin yet.</p><p>“Oh…Sarge. You haven’t heard”, Hailey said solemnly.</p><p>“Haven’t heard what?” Platt replied, dropping her joking tone, realizing how serious Hailey looked.</p><p>Hailey had never seen Platt cry before, until this morning. She told her as much as she knew and consoled her Sargent in the process. </p><p>“We’re going to try and organize something…”, Hailey said.</p><p>“On it. Leave it with me”, Platt said abruptly, needing to keep her mind occupied with that, and trying to compose herself. Kevin always had a soft spot in her heart. </p><p>The 21st was completely empty, just Intelligence in the building. So when Jay, Kim and Adam walked up the stairs, Hailey let her guard down a bit. </p><p>They congregated in front of Trudy’s desk, making quiet plans, exchanging a few tears and words together. Hailey looked at Jay, motioning they should get upstairs and read her face in the process.</p><p>He grabbed Hailey’s hand, without thinking twice, and lead the way up the stairs. Hailey gently brushed her thumb across the back of his hand, softly intertwining her fingers with his.</p><p>Adam and Kim stopped in their tracks, for the first time actually getting a glimpse into Hailey and Jay- the real Hailey and Jay. What they had all been dreaming of for years, just waiting for the time that they would catch their friends in a slip up, and the fantasy of them finally admitting their feelings for each other. This was finally happening.</p><p>They looked back at Trudy, who had tears in her eyes again, her lips curled into a small smile, feeling hopeful as she looked at her two Detectives.</p><p>“See, everything’s going to be okay”, she whispered, nodding towards Hailey and Jay, blissfully unaware as they walked up the stairs, then nodding at Kim and Adam, who equally felt that sentiment. For the first time in a week, even after being thrown into turmoil in both their personal and professional lives, really feeling like things might actually be okay. </p><p>XX</p><p>It had been one week, one week since their world was shifted with the news that Kevin’s brother was killed. They were unable to have a funeral for him because of the pandemic, but thankfully the weather had been nice enough to have a small outdoor gathering in the park. The team went to support Kevin, who cried and laughed telling stories about Jordan, as the rest of Intelligence listened intently. Vanessa stood by Kevin’s side the whole time, silently encouraging and consoling him when he needed it. </p><p>The team went their separate ways, getting news from Voight that they would be back to work in two weeks. There would be new requirements for everyone, including wearing a mask and getting their temperature checked every day before coming into the district. No one really complained that much, they were just ready to get back to some sort of normal. This was going to be their new reality for a while so accepting and embracing it was the only option.  </p><p>Jay and Hailey left to go back to her place, the team now well aware that they had been living and quarantining together. No one seemed overly surprised by the news, even Voight. He looked at them leaving together, gave them a nod and the smallest of grins, but still chose not to say anything to them. They took that as his blessing.</p><p>The two of them continued on with their domestic bliss, having the house to themselves as Vanessa continued to stay at Kevin’s. Jay was going stir crazy with the gym being closed, so they took up running together every morning and doing yoga at night. At first Jay laughed at yoga, he didn’t really consider himself a yogi. But he had to admit, his body had never felt better. His anxiety had also come down a notch, feeling calmer and more relaxed than he had in years.</p><p>“I told you so”, Hailey chuckled as she poured them a glass of wine.</p><p>“Ya, ya. You were right”, Jay said, yawning. His sleep had also been better too. </p><p>Hailey handed him the glass of red, wiggling her way closer to him on the couch, Kohl lying in between them.</p><p>“I could get used to this”, Jay blurted out.</p><p>“Wine and dog snuggles?” She giggled.</p><p>“No this”, Jay stated confidently. Motioning to Hailey, her house, raising the glass at the end. </p><p>She realized what he was saying, the two of them living together these last few weeks had been a surprisingly smooth transition. </p><p>She blushed, splitting her glance between the fire and the handsome man who had started it.</p><p>“Me too”, she grinned, searching his eyes, seeing the depth of emotion and yearning behind them.</p><p>XX</p><p>Three Months Later</p><p>They say that time heals all wounds. That couldn’t be further from the truth. What they thought was chaos in March, turned into full blown civil unrest in the city during the warmer months. The pandemic was not behind them in any way, and neither were the racial and political tensions building within city limits and beyond, threatening to erupt at any moment. There was more than one pandemic going on. </p><p>Kevin had taken some time off but was back with the unit. Kim and Adam were trying to work things out. Jay was still staying at Hailey’s house, but they weren’t really calling it living together just yet. Kohl had gone back to Will’s. Chicago had re-opened, but the virus was still lingering. Most shocking of them all though, was that Vanessa was gone.</p><p>Vanessa was gone. </p><p>Hailey still couldn’t believe it. She woke up one morning last week, heading down the stairs to get coffee. A note was left on the kitchen counter, thinking it was just Vanessa letting her know she had gone for a run or something. </p><p>When she read it more carefully however, her mouth dropped.</p><p>Hails, </p><p>I’m sorry it had to be this way. But I couldn’t bear to say good-bye to you. I am going undercover- I can’t tell you too much but just know that I’m okay but I was needed by my old unit. I don’t know when or if I’ll be back to Intelligence. I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done for me, you are the sister and the family I always dreamed and wished for. Take care of Jay- remember it’s hard AND easy because you love him, and you love each other. I’ll be in touch when I can. -V</p><p>Hailey had tears streaming down her face as she read the note, not hearing Jay enter the kitchen.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” He asked confused. All Hailey could do was hold up the note. He read it, the same surprised expression on his face as her. </p><p>“Did you know?” Hailey asked boldly.</p><p>He shook his head, “No, I didn’t.” Feeling guilty because he knew that was a lie.</p><p>He thought he saw Hailey study his face, his reaction to her question. It was so hard to lie to her; she always knew what he was thinking. </p><p>“This year sucks”, she stated, as Jay wiped a tear from her face.</p><p>“I know”, he said sympathetically.</p><p>“Just when I think things might be turning the corner, the rug is ripped from under us again. What’s going to happen at work?” She wondered out loud, already feeling the pressure of being a cop in Chicago. </p><p>Jay just stood there, completely understanding how she was feeling. 2020 had been a year like no other, and it was only halfway over.</p><p>“I think we’ll be telling our grandkids about this one day”, he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Or maybe we’ll never speak about this year again.”</p><p>His own eyes went wide as he caught himself planning and dreaming about their future.</p><p>“Yes, we will”, Hailey didn’t waiver. They shared a knowing glance and a small smile.</p><p>Jay was about to open his mouth, have the courage to be honest with her about Vanessa and how Voight had told him this was happening a few days ago, Hailey deserved to know- when his phone rang. </p><p>He held up his finger, indicating that he wanted to continue this conversation, and answered the unknown number.</p><p>“Hello?” He answered casually.</p><p>“Is this Jay Halstead?” An unfamiliar female voice replied on the other end.</p><p>“Yes, it is”, he instantly felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, all the muscles in his body tensing. Hailey stared at him, a knot forming in her stomach. </p><p>“I’m calling from Chicago Med, it’s regarding your brother Dr. Will Halstead.”</p><p>XX</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Another cliff hanger how bad am I?! First off, I am so so sorry for the big gap in between updates. Grad school has taken over my life, I have never been so busy and stressed in my life even though things are online. I think some of my pandemic frustrations have shown through in this chapter… Thank you to those who have written such kind reviews and messages checking in on me! Things are going well despite the crazy world that we’re living in right now. Anyone else have pandemic fatigue? Longing for things to return to normal? 2020 has not been good to us. However- Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians! I have been trying to get myself out of this universal funk we’re all in by reminding myself how much I have to be thankful for, while also allowing myself the space to grieve all the things that we’ve lost and missed out on. I encourage you all to do the same. Be kind to yourselves and to one another  - K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. A Bad Cold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 31 </p><p>“Alright.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>Jay nodded while listening intently to the person on the other end, Hailey couldn’t get a good read.</p><p>“I’m on my way”, he said somberly. Hailey’s stomach dropped.</p><p>“What happened”, Hailey asked nervously, Jay looked a little pale.</p><p>“Will collapsed at work-”, Hailey’s eyes went wide.</p><p>“His appendix. He’s in surgery right now”, he quickly reassured her, he could tell her mind wandered off to the worst possible scenario.</p><p>Hailey exhaled in relief, but then realized he was still in surgery. “Poor thing. Can’t catch a break. Okay so what does this mean?”</p><p>“It means I have to go there once he’s out of surgery and able to be discharged. Then I guess I’ll go stay with him at his apartment until he’s on his feet again.”</p><p>“What about being in close contact with him?” Hailey wondered, Will had been in the thick of things at Med for quite some time now.</p><p>“I don’t think I have a choice Hailey, I’m his emergency contact. He has no one else, he’s gonna need help for a few days at least”, Jay reasoned out loud. Not that he was hesitating to be there for his brother, but their current circumstances were not the most ideal, this definitely complicated things.</p><p>“Right. Well you could bring him here?” She suggested.</p><p>“I don’t want to risk that if he’s been exposed to covid, which is likely at the hospital right now, the way things are going…”, Jay trailed off, exhaling deeply.</p><p>“That means we have to be apart for a few weeks?” Hailey questioned sadly.</p><p>His eyes met hers, silently feeling conflicted. He didn’t want to leave her, nor did he want to risk the exposure for her. </p><p>“Jay bring him here honestly. If anything happens and we get it, then we get it. Will is going to need someone to take care of him. It’s better if we’re both able to.”<br/>“Are you sure?” He asked slowly, secretly hoping she wasn’t kidding. For as bad as Jay was as a patient, he was an ever worse caregiver. </p><p>“Yes. He can stay in Vanessa’s old room.”</p><p>“Okay, thanks Hailey. I’m not exactly that great of a nurse…”</p><p>“I know that’s why we’re bringing him here”, she smirked.</p><p>“He did rave about your soup that one time he was home sick with the flu”, Jay admitted, following that with a joking eyeroll. Hailey spoiled Will that week, and Will never let him forget it.</p><p>“Mmm that was one of my best batches of chicken noodle. I’ll see what I can whip up while you’re gone”, Hailey smiled, egging Jay on. She knew it secretly made him jealous that she took care of Will while he was sick, her and Will laugh about it all the time. </p><p>“Thanks Hails”, Jay flashed her his signature grin and followed it with a kiss on the cheek.</p><p>“They said he should be out of surgery soon, I’m the only one allowed in sorry”, Jay said looking at his watch, needing to stop by his brothers place to pack up some things for him before he went to the hospital.</p><p>“That’s okay, I’ll start getting things ready here”, Hailey headed up the stairs to start making Will’s bed up.</p><p>Jay headed out her door, by default putting their conversation about Vanessa on the back burner…for now.</p><p>XX</p><p>Jay walked into recovery to find Will looking ghostly pale, sitting half up in bed, throwing up into a basin.</p><p>He winced; he wasn’t good at this. Hailey was usually the one taking care of people in the group.</p><p>“Will?” Jay said cautiously, he probably didn’t look like himself under all the PPE, which he agreed to wear in exchange for begging the nurses to let him into the unit, and Will was groggy and confused by the looks of it still.</p><p>“Ughhh”, Will groaned, and held his face in his hands.</p><p>“Want me to get a nurse?” Jay asked. Will nodded yes. “Okay, I’ll be right back, hang in there”, he gave his brother a gentle pat on the back.<br/>Jay disappeared for a few min until he found a nurse on the floor, explaining the situation. </p><p>“Judging by his chart, this isn’t the first time Dr. Halstead has had a bad reaction to coming off of anesthesia.”</p><p>“Um ya I guess not. He got pretty sick after we had our wisdom teeth out”, Jay randomly spat out, that was a memory he had forgotten about. They both had all 4 out at the same time, their mom thinking it would be easier to do that and take care of them once. Boy was she wrong, Jay chuckled at the memory. </p><p>Will was puking his brains out for the full day after, Jay wasn’t too bad just loopy. But one of his stitches got infected and he was sick for a few days after too. Not a great week in the Halstead house. Their mom was so good to both of them though, always making sure they were comfortable and had soft food, and ice packs when they felt sore. Jay’s mind went blank for a few minutes after that, reminiscing on happier, or simpler days. Happy wasn’t really the right word for it, he was happy now. Happier than he had been in years, thanks to Hailey. He just missed his mom, it never really got easier.</p><p>“Detective?” The nurse brought him back to reality.</p><p>“Sorry”, Jay zoned back in.</p><p>“That’s alright, I just hit you with a lot of information. In summary, your brother is going to be fine. This is quite common for people waking up after surgery. I’m going to give him some medicine to help with the nausea.”</p><p>“The puking…isn’t that hurting his stomach though…he has stitches there”, Jay suddenly clued into why Will was in more pain than usual.</p><p>“I’m sure it won’t feel good later that’s for sure, but right now his body needs to get it out of his system. The pain meds will help mask the worst of it too.”</p><p>“Alright, as long as he’s comfortable”, Jay replied, taking a seat next to Will’s bed.</p><p>Will threw up on and off for the next few hours. Jay cringed each time he watched his brother half attempt to hunch over, cry out in pain from the stitches and lose his metaphorical lunch. He hadn’t been able to keep much down, although the puking was fewer and farther in between as the hours went by.</p><p>“Here, have a few ice chips Will”, Jay stood over his brother, awkwardly trying to force him to chew on the ice. The nurse kept mumbling things about dehydration, which Jay knew enough about that it wasn’t good.</p><p>Will reluctantly did that, and after another hour went by, he seemed to be turning a corner. A shift change had occurred, and Will was lucky enough to have April as his nurse now.</p><p>“Hey buddy”, she said as she came into his room, earning a groan from Will.</p><p>“Come on you can’t be that unhappy to see me, not when I risked my career to sneak some coconut water and rice pudding from the doctors lounge for you”, she replied.</p><p>Will couldn’t resist peeling one of his eyes open and giving her a toothy grin, motioning her to come towards him.</p><p>Jay smirked and rolled his eyes, Will had a strange taste for comfort food. But hey, whatever would make him feel better at this point.</p><p>“There’s my favourite nurse”, he said hoarsely, smiling at April.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. That’s what I thought”, April came around the side of his bed, setting his treats down and checking his vitals.</p><p>“How are you feeling now Will?” She asked, his BP and temperature were normal. He was a bit dehydrated, but that made sense given the last few hours.</p><p>“Mmmm”, Will said indifferently. “Pain is a 7.”</p><p>Jay didn’t exactly know what that meant relative to Will, he knew what his own 7 was, and he figured that meant Will was trying to power through to go home as soon as possible.</p><p>April seemed to nod and understand, “Alright. And the nausea?”</p><p>“Subsided I think”, Will confirmed.</p><p>“Good. I’ll go talk to the doctor and work on getting your discharge going”, April said before giving Jay a look to follow her out.</p><p>April left the room and Jay made an excuse a minute after to join her.</p><p>“Hey”, she whispered down the hall.</p><p>“Hey. Everything alright?” Jay questioned.</p><p>“Yeah, everything is fine. Just wanted to make sure Will was staying with you tonight, or you were staying there. He shouldn’t be alone.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah he’s coming back to Hailey’s with me, we’re going to take care of him there”, Jay’s face went bright red as soon as the words left his mouth.</p><p>“We. As in you and Detective Upton. Okay Jay”, April said slyly, giving him an approving nudge.</p><p>“It’s not- well it is that. But no one knows- I shouldn’t say that, people definitely know...”, Jay was rambling. </p><p>“Hey- I’m not your boss, I think that’s great you and Hailey are you know”, April laughed, mimicking Jay’s strange explanation of their relationship a minute earlier.</p><p>“Thanks April. But yes, to confirm, my brother is coming home with me and will be well taken care of”, Jay said, trying to hide the blush in his cheeks. </p><p>“Sounds good, I’ll come back in a bit to make sure everything is okay before you leave”, she smiled and left to go in to see another patient. </p><p>XX</p><p>It was late afternoon by the time Will was able to rally himself and leave the hospital. </p><p>Everything okay? You’ve been gone a while. Hailey’s name lit up Jay’s phone as he was sitting in the truck waiting for Will.</p><p>Just leaving for home now, Will had a hard time coming off the anesthesia…he was throwing up for hours.</p><p>Yikes. Well, I made some soup and washed all the sheets. So, he can get straight to bed when you’re home</p><p>You’re the best, thanks Hails love you. See you soon</p><p>Hailey’s heart skipped a beat, she still got butterflies seeing those words from Jay. It wasn’t that new to them anymore, but it still felt special. She was so lucky she got to do life with Jay Halstead.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey met Jay and Will at his truck as they pulled into her laneway, sensing that Jay might need an extra hand getting Will in the house.</p><p>Her assumptions were right as she opened the passenger door to find a very loopy Will grinning goofily back at her.</p><p>“Hi Will, how are you feeling?” She asked, Jay giving her a funny look in the background. </p><p>“Mmmm, better now with drugs. Not good earlier Hails, not good”, he emphasized as he pretended to throw up again.</p><p>She scrunched her nose up in a wince, “Heard that. Let me help you in, I made soup.”</p><p>Will laughed at Jay then turned back to Hailey, “Just for me. Hails, you make me feel special.”</p><p>It was Jay’s turn to laugh at that and roll his eyes, even half out of it Will and Hailey still liked to poke fun at the little green monster moment he had.</p><p>Jay reached over and unbuckled his seatbelt as Hailey grabbed his arm to steady him as he hopped out of the truck. </p><p>They made it inside with no issues, Jay pausing on the porch to let out a sneeze.</p><p>“Ugh allergies are killing me today”, he said to Hailey through watery eyes.</p><p>“Mmm that time of the year”, she said, not thinking anything of it.</p><p>XX</p><p>Will slurped his soup eagerly on the couch as Jay brought his stuff upstairs. They chatted for a few minutes before they convinced Will he should head to bed. </p><p>“And miss the chance to have a romantic late night dinner with you two?” He giggled.</p><p>Hailey and Jay laughed at that one too, Will was full of laughs tonight.</p><p>“Yes, sorry Will, strict orders for bedrest for the next few days. You can join us for a romantic dinner later this week”, Jay added.</p><p>Will saluted him and mocked his brother, “Yes sir Dr. Halstead.”</p><p>Hailey put her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter, Jay didn’t know how to respond to that one. He had to admit Will was being pretty funny.</p><p>He checked his watch, “I think it’s time for more painkillers too Will.”</p><p>Will was pumped about that and promptly peeled himself off the couch, gingerly, but he managed on his own.</p><p>Jay helped him get changed and did all that stuff, Hailey said she would do it, but Jay insisted. </p><p>“I want to be the only Halstead you see naked”, he whispered in her ear, feeling satisfied after Hailey blushed a little, bit her lip and gave his body a once over.</p><p>“Maybe we could visit that thought later”, she whispered back seductively, resting her hand on the top button of his jeans, enjoying watching and feeling him squirm under her touch.</p><p>Jay’s turn to blush and bite his lip. “May-AHHH-CHOOO-be.” Another surprise sneeze.</p><p>“You catching a cold?” She asked suspiciously, glaring at him.</p><p>He shook his head confidently, “Ragweed. Always gets me this time of the year.”</p><p>Hailey nodded in agreement; he did always have a few weeks in the summer like this.</p><p>After Will was in bed and Hailey and Jay ate dinner, they snuck off to bed early to make good on their earlier promise. </p><p>They both sighed loudly, lying back on their pillows at the same time after spending the last hour in total bliss; hot, rhythmic, passionate bliss.</p><p>“I never want to leave this bed with you”, Hailey said with a sultry smile, thinking about how many times she exploded with pleasure in the last hour.</p><p>Jay turned over and bit his bottom lip, moving his hand under the blanket towards Hailey.</p><p>She shuddered at his touch again on her most sensitive spots. A small moan escaped her lips. “Jay”, she whispered. </p><p>“I love you Hailey. And I want to show you that over, and over, and over again”, he repeated as his head dipped below the blankets, the fire rising in her core before she even had a chance to reply.</p><p>XX</p><p>They forced themselves to get up a few hours later, to check on Will and clean up the kitchen for the night. </p><p>Hailey opened the door quietly, poking her head in, surprised to find Will wide awake.</p><p>“Will- are you okay?” She asked cautiously.</p><p>He blinked out of the trance he was in, “Hmm? Um ya, I’m okay. Sore. Can’t really find a comfortable spot.”</p><p>“I’ll go get a heating pack”, Jay said as he disappeared from the doorway.</p><p>Hailey sat at the edge of the bed, “Anything else we can do Will?”</p><p>“You guys have done enough seriously, thanks for letting me crash and taking care of me. People outside of the hospital aren’t exactly rushing to see me these days”, he mentioned sort of sadly.</p><p>Hailey’s heart dropped a little. Will and everyone else in healthcare was sacrificing so much right now and have been all throughout the pandemic. “Of course, Will, no brainer decision for us. You’re family.”</p><p>Will’s lips curled into a smile. “Thanks Hailey. And I’m sorry about Vanessa, it’s not lost on me that this worked out because she isn’t here anymore. I know it’s been eating Jay up the last week or so, how to talk to you about it.”</p><p>Hailey’s expression changed from happy to confused and angry. Her train of thought stopped dead in its tracks, just as Jay reappeared in the doorway.</p><p>“What?” Hailey asked, making sure she understood Will correctly.</p><p>Will glanced at Jay, whose face went pale, not realizing the innocent comment he just said was going to turn her world upside down.</p><p>“Um, ugh, sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t…”, Will stumbled uncharacteristically. </p><p>He saw the switch in Hailey’s body language and fire burn behind her eyes. </p><p>“It’s alright Will”, she said coolly, shooting daggers with her eyes at Jay. </p><p>He sheepishly snuck past her, making sure Will felt comfortable, handed him more medicine and water.</p><p>“Thanks guys”, Will said, giving them a nod, indicating that they could leave, and talk. Likely yell, but clearly, they had a lot to discuss.</p><p>Hailey calmly left the room, gathering her thoughts before she was going to unleash on her partner.</p><p>They were barely down the stairs when Jay put his hand on her shoulder, “Hailey wait-“</p><p>“YOU KNEW!” She yelled, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.</p><p>Jay shook his head and stared at the ground; he couldn’t exactly deny it at this point. Not with Will blowing it, he couldn’t blame his brother though, he should have told Hailey.</p><p>“I’m sorry”, he said softly.</p><p>“You’re what?” She pressed on in anger.</p><p>“I’m sorry Hailey. I shouldn’t have kept it from you, but Voight and-”</p><p>“I don’t care about what Voight thinks Jay! You’re my partner. You should have told me”, she cut him off deliberately without letting him finish.</p><p>“It’s Vanessa Jay, the one person I feel close to aside from you…”, she trailed off, visibly upset.</p><p>Jay felt a knot forming in the back of his throat. “She told me not to tell you. I lost sleep over this Hails; please believe me I didn’t want you to find out like this. I was trying to work up the courage this morning then Will…”</p><p>“Oh, don’t blame this on your brother. If he didn’t just slip up, would you have ever told me? Huh? Be honest Jay”, she said accusingly.</p><p>Jay couldn’t lie to her again, so he told her the truth, even though it was hard. “I don’t know that I would have… Vanessa wanted to make this as painless as possible, clean break.”</p><p>“Well, that didn’t work did it”, Hailey said as she stormed off to the hall closet, feeling bitter at all that 2020 had taken from her, she refused to let it ruin things with Jay either.</p><p>Jay stood in the middle of her living room, speechless. They had never really had a big fight before, not as more than partners anyways. He knew Hailey, and knew she wanted space. So that’s what he was going to give her.</p><p>She came back to the living room a minute later with a pillow and blanket, throwing it not so gently in his direction, her eyes gazing towards the couch.</p><p>“Good night Jay”, she said harshly, with no hug or kiss, barely even a second glance and stormed up the stairs to her room. </p><p>He exhaled loudly, knowing he deserved this, his body aching with regret. He dragged the pillow and blanket to the couch, accepting defeat, and crossed his fingers that he would wake up feeling better in the morning.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey woke up still fuming at Jay from the night before. She could not believe he knew about Vanessa’s plan to leave and kept it from her.</p><p>She stomped loudly down the stairs, she didn’t care that it was early, and she would wake Jay, who was no doubt still sleeping on the couch. She turned the corner to grab her running shoes and slammed the door behind her.</p><p>The slamming of the door woke Jay up from the short nap he was able to have the night before. He was up all night coughing and sneezing; he felt awful this morning and had accepted it wasn’t ragweed. Hailey was going to be even more mad at him if he gave her this cold too.</p><p>His eyes were just closing again after laying back down when he heard the front door turn and the faint blare of Hailey’s music through her headphones. He didn’t have the courage to face her yet, so he pretended to still be sleeping. She didn’t seem to want to talk to him either, it made his heart hurt a little.</p><p>He heard the shower turn off and Hailey came down the stairs about 15 minutes later to make coffee and breakfast. Even with his eyes closed he knew her routine; she was predictable. His ears ached and his sinuses hurt so bad and he was so congested he could barely sit upright.</p><p>Hailey turned the corner to take her coffee upstairs just as Jay was sneezing and wiping his nose for the tenth time since he woke up it seemed. She paused; he saw her out of the corner of his eye give him a glare. </p><p>“Not allergies huh?” She stated neutrally, he didn’t detect sympathy but not exactly anger either. The red rims of his eyes and under his nose giving away the cold he seemed to have caught.</p><p>All Jay could do was shake his head no, he was about to say something when the tickle in his throat got him and he went into a coughing fit, all of his ribs aching as he leaned back into the couch, his legs outstretched on the sectional. </p><p>He thought he saw her roll her eyes, and his spirits were dampened as he watched her walk away without saying anything again.</p><p>His eyes were starting to close even though his head was throbbing, and he couldn’t breathe through his nose. He just wanted to fall asleep.</p><p>“I’m still mad at you”, she said as his eyes popped open, she was looking directly at him, wanting to make that crystal clear. </p><p>He looked up at her with the saddest puppy dog eyes she’d ever seen.</p><p>“I dow”, he sniffled.</p><p>“Here”, Hailey said as she set a mug of tea down on the coffee table and had a bottle of cold medicine and spoon in tow. <br/>He sat up as far as he could go, wincing at the pressure forming behind his eyes, his chest felt heavy.</p><p>Hailey gave him a few spoonful’s of the medicine and handed him the mug of tea as she draped a blanket over him, noticing him shiver. </p><p>“Thank you”, he said faintly, as his eyes closed again.</p><p>She lightly brushed her hand across his cheek, noting the warmth.</p><p>“You’re warm Jay”, she said hesitantly. </p><p>He nodded, not surprised by that. He did not feel so hot. </p><p>“I’m find”, he mouthed.</p><p>“Find, huh?” Hailey looked at him with the tiniest grin on her face. He couldn’t blame her if she felt a bit satisfied seeing him so miserable today.</p><p>“Need sleeb”, Jay continued, obviously struggling to speak.</p><p>Hailey’s eyes trailed to the pile of tissues building up next to him. </p><p>“Bight have a cold”, Jay grabbed another tissue and blew his nose. </p><p>“Uh oh. Admitting it willingly too, you must have it bad”, she said.</p><p>He nodded, wiping at his nose while Hailey pulled the blanket back to prop some pillows up behind him.</p><p>“Lie back Jay”, she said sternly, he reluctantly obliged. He couldn’t breathe lying down, so he was thankful she made him a pillow mountain instead.</p><p>“Haven’t had a cold in so long”, he coughed, wincing at how his chest ached.</p><p>“You caught the cold I had at Christmas”, she laughed, remembering how sick they both were for their rare few days off. </p><p>“No those were allergies”, he said definitively, trying to push back the memories of the two of them not being able to go five minutes without coughing, sneezing or blowing their noses. They watched a whole season of Friends in one sitting, not having the energy to even move off the couch. Rojas basically took care of them 24/7 for a few days until it got her too. Ruzek was patient zero that time, they still blamed him for ruining their holidays. In his defence, it was his nephew that sneezed in his face and caused the whole thing, but that was in the past now.</p><p>“Last time I checked hay fever was in August not December”, Hailey retorted. </p><p>“AAAHH- AAAH”, Jay hesitated.</p><p>“CHOOO”, Hailey passed him a tissue just in time.</p><p>“Tanks”, he groaned through a congested voice. The skin under his nose was already feeling raw from the constant wiping, his nose was running like a faucet. </p><p>“Ya I would say you’ve definitely caught a bad head cold”, Hailey said sympathetically, as she stroked the back of his head. </p><p>“Feels like my chest”, Jay motioned with his eyes closed, trying to muster the energy to grab another tissue.</p><p>Hailey sat down next to him, grabbing the remote and turning on a movie for them. She had a feeling they weren’t going to be moving much from this spot all day. </p><p>Jay looked at her confused, he knew she was pissed still, rightfully so. Hailey once again seemed to read his mind. </p><p>“We are going to talk about what happened last night. But right now, you need to rest.”</p><p>Jay nodded his head agreeing with her, as he accepted her open arm invitation. Hailey had laid a few pillows out on her lap and was motioning for him to snuggle up. He gratefully did so, feeling a bit better as she tucked the blanket over his shoulder, and rubbed his achy back. </p><p>They weren’t far into Ferris Bueller’s day off when Hailey felt Jay go limp and felt and heard him start snoring. Usually that annoyed her, but she couldn’t be that mad at him for that. He couldn’t help that he was so stuffed up. Instead she brushed the hair back from his forehead and tried to suppress a giggle as she watched him passed out cold, breathing entirely from his mouth.</p><p>Hailey sipped her coffee and watched the rest of the movie, sneaking out from under Jay to go check on Will. He didn’t even flinch, she knew the medicine knocked him out.</p><p>Will was up in bed reading a book, Hailey grinned when she opened the door. He barely looked like he just had surgery. </p><p>“You alright in here Will?” She asked. </p><p>“I’m okay, thanks Hailey”, he nodded awkwardly, not going to bring up the fact that he heard every word of their argument last night.</p><p>“Good. Jay woke up with a bad cold by the way, he’s fast asleep on the couch. So you might want to quarantine yourself in here”, she said sheepishly. </p><p>Normally that wouldn’t alarm Will, but the timing didn’t sit right with him.</p><p>“How’s he doing? Fever? Cough?” Will started asking.</p><p>“Um, miserable, but just typical symptoms, I suppose. Bit of a fever, and a cough I guess…”, Hailey trailed off, the puzzle pieces adding up in her head as her and Will locked eyes.</p><p>“Oh no. Do you think…?” She asked.</p><p>Will winced as he shifted to grab his phone from the bedside table, forgetting about his stitches.</p><p>His face went ghostly pale, realizing he had missed a few important texts and emails from work.</p><p>ALERT: You have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Please monitor for any symptoms, and self-quarantine for the next fourteen days.</p><p>April Sexton: Will, I’m so sorry to tell you this over text, my swab came back positive before starting shift this morning. I know you’re with Hailey and Jay, please let them know too. I’m doing okay I don’t have symptoms, but just keep an eye on them and yourself. Take care, will call you later.</p><p>“What is it?” Hailey sighed, deep down already knowing by the look on Will’s face.</p><p>“April has covid. And I think we might too now.”</p><p>XX</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Feeling like I end every chapter update as of late like this lol…but sorry for the delay! Life has been way too busy; I’ve been seeing all your comments and messages- thank you! And have been reading other stories on here but haven’t had the chance to review, that’s coming one of these days. Ironic that I last updated at Canadian Thanksgiving, and it’s soon to be American Thanksgiving (I think this weekend?) Hope you enjoy this update, an extra long one to make up for the lack of Missing Moments lately. I have a few more chapters planned to wrap this up. I’m not sure what sort of things I’ll write after this, I’ve only written the two stories so far and always get so attached lol. But I am open to writing other things, any ideas? Would love to hear what you guys want to read! Wishing you all well during this continually crazy, unpredictable time. P.S. Cheering for your Democracy America!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Quaran-Team</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 32</p><p>"Wait a second, Will there's no way…Jay only saw April for a few minutes yesterday, in full PPE", Hailey said trying to connect the timeline in her head.</p><p>Will looked at her with a guilty stare. "Jay and I had coffee last week. I hadn't seen him in so long…I just needed someone to talk to…We hugged…. I was so stressed…"</p><p>Hailey bit her lip. "It's alright Will. Okay well we still don't know for sure. If you and April had contact with one another though…"</p><p>"We have", Will said shaking his head. "I've been so careful…but it's been so hard Hailey", he held his head in his hands.</p><p>"I know", Hailey came over to sit on the edge of the bed next to him, and he instantly flinched away from her, trying not to touch her.</p><p>"Will it's alright. It's too late. I sleep in the same bed as Jay. If he has it, I have it too", she said softly. It was obvious that Will was so used to not touching anyone, the deep sigh and relaxation that came when their shoulders touched, it was obvious that he was craving physical connection.</p><p>He looked up at her, that admission causing a small to creep across his face, hiding the tears of guilt and stress that were building up behind his eyes.</p><p>"Yes, you heard correctly. That was me fully admitting it. I know you know, but this is my official confession. Jay and I are dating. I love your brother", Hailey said smirking, putting it all out there.</p><p>"Well it's about time", Will nudged her in a congratulatory way. He was going to tease her about something else, but he saw the blush in her cheeks and the nervous half bite of her lip as she told him she loved his brother.</p><p>"And I know you do. He loves you too, that much is abundantly clear and has been for quite some time", Will replied, earning a smile from Hailey.</p><p>"Thank you Will", she said.</p><p>"But back to business…", Hailey trailed off.</p><p>"Right. Well, we'll keep an eye on Jay for now", Will replied.</p><p>"Should we tell him? That it might be covid?" She said nervously.</p><p>"No, not yet", Will said back instantaneously. "It's only going to freak him out. He hates being sick as is, that's only going to make his anxiety worse."</p><p>"Okay", Hailey let out a deep breath. "Unless he gets worse, we're just going to play this off as a regular cold/flu type deal."</p><p>"Yes. Well at least let him get some sleep first before telling him, and maybe make some more soup, make him feel special", Will joked, referencing their inside joke that Jay could never get over.</p><p>Hailey laughed at that. "Right, good thinking. Are you feeling okay?" She stared at him curiously, wondering how Will could be fine and Jay was so sick.</p><p>"I don't feel great…", he backpedaled as Hailey reached up quickly to check his forehead.</p><p>"My side hurts I mean. Just overall not feeling great from surgery still", he corrected himself and smiled at her attentiveness.</p><p>"Oh, okay good. Well, not good. But better than the virus I guess", Hailey also stumbling and correcting herself.</p><p>Will laughed. "It's okay Hailey take a breath. I'm fine, Jay's going to be fine. You're feeling okay too?" He eyed her for any quick lies she was about to tell him.</p><p>She nodded, "I'm good."</p><p>"Okay. Is Jay sleeping?"</p><p>"He was when I left him", she replied.</p><p>"Don't wake him if he's resting, but when he is awake, try and get some Tylenol into him and make sure he's drinking a lot of water", Will instructed.</p><p>Hailey nodded, "Got it. I'm going to start making fresh soup too. You want some?"</p><p>Will grinned, "Of course. That might help my nausea. Tell Jay it's for him though", giving her a wink as she laughed and left his room.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey snuck downstairs, hearing Jay's soft snores before she saw him. He was still fast asleep on the couch. She smiled, he looked so cute all tucked in under the blankets. She almost went over to kiss him on the cheek but resisted because she knew she would wake him up instantly if she did.</p><p>Instead, she quietly snuck into the kitchen and started cooking with whatever she had in her fridge and pantry. She was going to have to call Kim or someone to do a grocery run for them eventually. Even if Jay wasn't sick with covid, Will still got that alert from April and would have to self-isolate for 14 days anyways. She was mentally preparing herself to be locked in this house for that long. After some careful thought, she realized being locked in with the Halstead's wasn't too bad, there were worse places she could be.</p><p>Suddenly, as the soup was simmering, she had a panic thought. What did Will do with Kohl? How could she forget about that sweet pup that lived with them for a while back in the spring? She ran upstairs and knocked quietly on Will's door.</p><p>"Mmm?" He opened his eyes slowly as the door creaked open.</p><p>"Where is Kohl?" She asked in a panic, Will laughed.</p><p>"Oh, now you realize. I'm going to tell Kohl you forgot about him, he's going to be offended."</p><p>Hailey laughed and rolled her eyes. "I take it you've made other arrangements."</p><p>"My neighbour across the hall in my building actually offered to take him for me for a while a few days ago. Noticed I was having a hard time, and just with my schedule and stuff…", Will forced a smile, but Hailey saw the sadness.</p><p>"That's nice of them. You know you can have Kohl here, anytime right?" She replied, realizing they had been pretty busy as of late and hadn't checked up on how Will was doing as much as they should have.</p><p>"I know, thank you Hails. You guys have had a lot on your plate too lately." Jay had filled him in last week.</p><p>She shrugged and nodded. "Hey, do you think we need to tell our unit that Jay's sick?" It dawned on Hailey that Voight and Platt weren't exactly in the not vulnerable category for this.</p><p>Will hesitated, "Probably. What day is it again?"</p><p>"It's Monday."</p><p>"And I had coffee with Jay on Thursday morning."</p><p>"Right. So… what did Jay and I do on Thursday…", Hailey was thinking out loud, trying to remember everyone they had been in contact with.</p><p>"Jay was in court all day. He wore a mask there, and social distanced though. So that should be okay right?"</p><p>"In theory, yes", Will replied.</p><p>"I didn't see Jay until Thursday night when he got home from work. Friday, we woke up, got coffee from our favourite place around the corner, also in masks. Went into the district… I don't think got too close to anyone. We've only been unmasked with each other", Hailey concluded, trying to do her own contact tracing.</p><p>"You're sure about that?" He asked.</p><p>"Yes, positive."</p><p>"Well that's good. I think it may be a good idea to monitor Jay and see if his symptoms progress. If they do, we'll get tested. If they don't, we can isolate here, and hope for the best in the next few days", Will reasoned clinically.</p><p>"Alright. So, if you gave it to Jay…and I've been with Jay this whole time, why aren't you or I sick?"</p><p>Will shook his head, shrugging his shoulders. This was the most frustrating and infuriating part for him. There was so much they didn't know about this virus still; the transmission patterns and the wide presentation and severity of symptoms didn't make sense to him or anyone else in the scientific and medical community really.</p><p>"Hailey, I've been thinking about this a lot, and to be quite honest with you I think I've already had it. And I think you have too."</p><p>She looked at him confused, then remembering her time in New York.</p><p>"Huh", she replied as he explained his theory to her. "I tested negative for covid though, before I got on that flight back to Chicago."</p><p>"That's true. But at that time, things with testing were still a mess. There were a lot of false negatives and just overall mayhem."</p><p>She didn't really consider that up until now. She just assumed negative test, meant that she never had it while she was in New York. She was pretty sick that last week she was there, as was the rest of the FBI unit she was with.</p><p>"I just had cold symptoms though, no fever or cough", she said.</p><p>"But…", she started again.</p><p>Will looked at her, wanting her to finish her sentence.</p><p>"My partner OA, he had it pretty bad. We just assumed it was the flu. He was achy and had a really high fever. I had to drive him home the one day, he could barely keep his eyes open."</p><p>Will raised his eyebrows, waiting for Hailey to put the pieces together.</p><p>"Okay. So, hypothetically if I did have it back when I was in New York and this whole pandemic was kicking off…what about you then? How come you aren't sick? If you gave it to Jay, you would have been showing symptoms by now too, right?"</p><p>"You're right. When I had the flu at the end of February…I'm actually pretty sure that was covid, I just didn't know it at the time. I've never been that sick in my life, and I have picked up some nasty things from the ED over the years. Well it was either when I had the flu or at some point or another, I caught it at work and was asymptomatic. Hard to say for sure. I get tested at work now and again, and recent bloodwork did show that I have covid antibodies."</p><p>"Why didn't you say anything? Will we could have seen you this whole time if you're immune?" Hailey asked confused, remembering how hard it was to watch him send Kohl off, to not hug them, feel the impacts of the loneliness and the isolation during these last few months. She knew this was wearing heavily on him. Will wasn't like Jay, he was a hugger, a people person. This was hard for him, and hard for everyone.</p><p>"Just because I have immunity, doesn't mean I can't still be a carrier and pass it along. I would never forgive myself if I gave it to you guys…but then I guess here we are. That didn't work anyways huh? I slipped up with Jay one time and look what it's done", Will bit his lip, fighting back a few tears.</p><p>"Don't do that Will, you can't blame yourself. We work on the front lines too. We know it's a risk. It's going to be okay. Jay is young and healthy, he's going to get through this just fine, okay? I've taken care of him before, I'll do it again" Hailey said reassuring him.</p><p>"I know", he whispered softly, looking up at Hailey. "I need to get out of this bed and walk around a little bit", he said changing the subject before he got too emotional.</p><p>"Of course. Do you need help?" She asked, not really sure what she would be helping with, but knowing Will he would tell her.</p><p>"I should be okay. Sitting back down hurts the most actually, so maybe getting back into bed", he admitted sheepishly.</p><p>"You got it. I'm going to quickly go check on the soup, be back in a few minutes", Will gave her a thumbs up as he gingerly made his way out of bed to take a leisurely stroll down the hallway to the bathroom to change his own dressing and back.</p><p>By the time Hailey came back upstairs Will was just coming out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in hand.</p><p>"Good?" Hailey asked as she followed closely behind. Jay was still fast asleep, and Will did just have surgery after all. She needed to make sure he was okay too.</p><p>He nodded, breathing slightly heavier than normal, trying to mask the pain he was in.</p><p>"Lucky for you, I know the I'm fine, signature Halstead pain look, too well actually", she said, giving him a knowing stare.</p><p>"Is it that obvious?" Will half laughed, half grimaced.</p><p>"Yes. You both do this thing where you crinkle your eyebrows and try to play it off as a squint or a yawn", Hailey said mimicking the look.</p><p>That made Will laugh a little harder, holding his side afterwards.</p><p>"Alright, alright. I know I'm a comedian, but you're going to pop stitches if you keep laughing like that", Hailey said as she walked through the doorway with him.</p><p>He let out a long sigh and paused, taking a few deep breaths trying to calm himself down.</p><p>"Your incisions okay?" She looked him over.</p><p>"Mhmm, I just cleaned them and changed the dressing. Hurts a little", Will explained.</p><p>"I see. Hey Will?" Hailey stepped away from him so they could pass through the doorway.</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>Before he could respond, Hailey stepped in front of him and gently wrapped her arms around him.</p><p>"We can hug again right?" Hailey asked curiously, a small smile appearing on Will's face.</p><p>He just nodded, so craving human connection. It was the main thing he had been missing.</p><p>At first the hug was rigid and unfamiliar, almost as if he forgot how to do it. Then after a few breaths she felt him relax a little, his breathing even out. He was taller than her, and just a little bit taller than Jay, so she barely came up to his chest. They stood there for a minute, the embrace causing a rush of endorphins for both of them. Will suddenly didn't hurt as much as before.</p><p>"Thank you, Hailey", he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.</p><p>"No, thank you, Will", she rubbed his back as she let him go, and helped him slowly lower down into bed.</p><p>"Have some soup okay, and take more pain meds", she said nodding to the bedside table, a variety of goodies laid out on top.</p><p>He thanked her again, she turned the TV on for him and helped him get into a comfortable position. "These will make me sleep soon, you should go check on Jay."</p><p>No sooner did Will say that did they hear loud coughing from downstairs.</p><p>"That's my cue", Hailey smiled, and Will wished her luck.</p><p>The rest of the way down the stairs she kept thinking that if she had a sister, she would set her up with Will, because Will deserved the world.</p><p>XX</p><p>There was no doubt that Jay was really sick. If it wasn't covid, this was definitely a terrible bug that he had. She had never seen him this sick before.</p><p>He had spent the rest of the day asleep on the couch, Hailey thought about waking him up so that he could move to bed. But Jay wasn't having any of it and kept telling her he couldn't walk that far anyways. That concerned her, her house wasn't exactly huge, a walk upstairs was nothing.</p><p>So, she did what she could and kept an eye on him, making sure he took medicine every once in a while. The next morning, she crept downstairs, heading straight for Jay.</p><p>"AACHOOO", Jay weakly sat up on the couch, eyes watery and nose runny. He was so congested he thought he might die.</p><p>"Here, have some medicine", Hailey sat on the edge of the couch, handing him some more cough syrup.</p><p>"Will this knock be out?" Jay asked while heavily mouth breathing.</p><p>"It should. You need to get some sleep you were up half the night", Hailey reminded him.</p><p>"Sorry", he said sheepishly, knowing that he kept her up too with his coughing and sneezing, even though he was on the couch.</p><p>"It's alright Jay, you're sick", she said gently, as she put a hand on his forehead again.</p><p>"You don't feel like you have a fever, that's good", she said optimistically.</p><p>"Feel like garbage", he replied in as few words as possible.</p><p>"I know. That sucks, I'm sorry", she said while rubbing his back.</p><p>"You should go, don't want to get you sick too", Jay said as he blew his nose again.</p><p>"I think it's too late for that", Hailey reasoned, trying everything to make him feel better.</p><p>He shrugged his shoulders, knowing she was right. "Work?"</p><p>Hailey knew what he was asking. "I called Voight yesterday when you woke up sick. Explained that Will needed someone to take care of him and you were out of commission."</p><p>Jay studied her face, even half out of it he knew something was up. "What are you dot telling be?"</p><p>She knew she couldn't lie to him, "Since you technically have covid symptoms, we have to stay here until we're all clear."</p><p>Suddenly it dawned on Jay, why Hailey had been tip toeing around him since he got sick.</p><p>"Do you think I have it?" He whispered.</p><p>She shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe. Will got a notification from work…he's been exposed. So, it's likely we have too."</p><p>Jay's eyes went wide, he was instantly thinking of all the people he had seen in the last week.</p><p>"It's alright, I've already done the math. You've only seen me unmasked. And I'm fine. So is Will. Will thinks I might have had it in New York already, and he has antibodies meaning he's had it or been exposed at some point too. That's why we aren't sick."</p><p>"Makes sense. What do we do?" He asked, breathing harder, she could tell whatever he had was in his chest now.</p><p>"Stay put. Keep an eye on you… Will's been in touch with public health. We're going to quarantine for 2 weeks. If you get worse, you'll have to go to the hospital, but chances are that's not going to happen okay?"</p><p>For the first time in a long time, Hailey saw fear in Jay's eyes.</p><p>He nodded, just taking it all in. "Okay."</p><p>"I'm so sorry about Vanessa Hailey, I shouldn't have kept it from you", he managed to get out slowly.</p><p>She nodded, forgetting that she was even mad at him in the first place.</p><p>"I understand Jay. It's okay."</p><p>"We're good?" He asked.</p><p>"We're always going to be good", she jokingly used his own line on him.</p><p>He smirked at that, curling up to Hailey as she laid down next to him on the couch and pulled a blanket over his shoulder.</p><p>"Jay, I have to tell you something", Hailey blurted out.</p><p>"Hmm?" He asked without looking up at her, he didn't have the energy.</p><p>"The FBI offered me a job", she said bluntly.</p><p>That caused Jay to turn his head and look her in the eyes, seeing the fear wash over his face again.</p><p>"I'm not taking it though. I just wanted you to hear it from me."</p><p>"I knew they'd want you. I'm glad you're not leaving. But if you wanted to, know that I would go with you", he nuzzled in closer to her, his body heat keeping her warm as he rested his head on her chest.</p><p>"I know you would", she kissed the side of his forehead and rubbed his back until he drifted off attempting to nap.</p><p>XX</p><p>Several hours later, Hailey had texted Kim, briefly explaining their situation. Before she knew it, she had an incoming FaceTime call.</p><p>"Hey", she said quietly, knowing Jay wasn't totally asleep, but trying not to be too loud either because he was trying to rest.</p><p>"Hey yourself, are you guys okay? Voight filled us in…", Kim said, she was clearly at work. After realizing the position Hailey and Jay were lying in, she tried to shield her phone from the curious eyes of their co-workers.</p><p>"Will and I are alright, Jay is so sick Kim…", Hailey admitted.</p><p>Kim could see his rosy cheeks peeking out of the blanket he was wrapped up in.</p><p>"He looks it", she replied sympathetically, Hailey nodded, sticking a thermometer in his mouth at the same time.</p><p>"Fever?" Kim asked, Kevin and Adam joining her in the frame.</p><p>"Of a 102", Hailey confirmed, taking the thermometer out of his mouth and setting it down next to her. She had been checking him so frequently, she probably could have guessed the exact number just by feeling his forehead at this point.</p><p>"Oh Jay", Kim said concerned.</p><p>"I'm alright", he said clearing his throat, opening his glossy eyes to see Kevin and Adam also staring back at him.</p><p>"You look like hell Jay", Kevin replied.</p><p>"But it looks like you have a cute nurse anyways", Adam said winking, Kim nudging him, staring back at Voight's office door.</p><p>"What?! Everyone knows already Kim. Voight included", Adam said rolling his eyes.</p><p>Hailey chuckled at that, although what Adam said was true, they still haven't made a formal announcement at work about their relationship. Guess their quarantine situation was about to do it for them.</p><p>In perfect timing, Voight walked into the frame, to see Jay shirtless, sprawled out over top of Hailey on the couch.</p><p>"Hey Sarge", Hailey said nonchalantly. Jay's eyes went wide, even half out of it realizing they've been caught red-handed.</p><p>"Upton, Halstead. I see you're going with a more traditional method to bring Jay's fever down", referring to his lack of clothing.</p><p>Hailey bit her lip trying not to laugh, as were her co-workers in the background. Kim was holding the phone for Voight, who still had no idea how to work FaceTime.</p><p>"As little clothing as possible is what I've heard is best Sarge", Kim said egging them on.</p><p>"Yes, something like that", Hailey replied.</p><p>"Worse than when you had strep in the spring Jay? You were pretty sick then", Kim remembered.</p><p>"Way worse", Jay mumbled weakly with his eyes closed, not even caring that the entire unit was seeing him shirtless and vulnerable lying on top of his girlfriend.</p><p>"Huh, well I hope you're both doing okay. Take all the time you need. Send our love to Will too", Voight said genuinely.</p><p>"Will do. We're alright. This will pass Jay", she said softly as she ran her thumb over the back of his head.</p><p>Kim was melting. They were so good together it hurt.</p><p>"Until then, do you need anything?" She asked.</p><p>"Umm, maybe some food, and medicine to be honest. Wasn't expecting this, I haven't been shopping this week", she replied.</p><p>"Alright, it's okay we've got you guys. We'll pick some groceries and things up for you and drop them off on your porch tomorrow", Adam yelled on the speakerphone.</p><p>"That would be a lifesaver thank you", Hailey replied, and Jay gave a half-ass thumbs up.</p><p>"Hailey with her boys. What an ideal quaran-team", Kim teased.</p><p>She rolled her eyes, "It's going to be a long two weeks if this is what I'm in for." Jay had already fallen back asleep again and started snoring.</p><p>"I knew he wasn't perfect, Jay Halstead, a snorer", Adam said with satisfaction.</p><p>"You snore too", Kim poked back.</p><p>Adam faked shock, "Only when I'm sick!" Kim raised her eyebrows at the obvious conclusion Adam had just walked himself into.</p><p>"Okay, okay, fair enough. Jay is still the perfect specimen", he agreed after re-evaluating the situation they were in.</p><p>"That's what I thought. Okay we'll let you go, hopefully Jay's feeling better next time we chat", Kim signed off, Hailey thanking her for their help later on.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey had fallen asleep herself at some point, waking up to the sound of Will's voice.</p><p>"Hails, Hails", he rubbed her shoulder.</p><p>"What's wrong?" She immediately became alert.</p><p>"Jay's breathing sounds really bad, I could hear his wheezing upstairs", Will's face was scrunched up in concern as he put one hand on Jay's forehead and one on Hailey's.</p><p>"I'm fine Will", she said.</p><p>"I know I'm just checking. This can come on fast, and people deteriorate really quickly", Will said nervously, every single covid patient he's treated in the last few months coming across his mind. Hailey picked up on his nerves, it was out of character.</p><p>"His fever seems to be breaking anyways. Did you give him anything?"</p><p>"Yeah some more Tylenol a few hours ago", she confirmed.</p><p>"Okay good. He needs to try and move around a bit. I know he's tired but getting up is actually good for this."</p><p>"Jay…Jay…", Will rubbed his back slowly. It took a minute, but he eventually came to on his own.</p><p>"How are you feeling?" Will asked, still unable to crouch down.</p><p>Jay shook his head. "Not good."</p><p>"I know man. You have to get up alright, we're going to help you up to Hailey's room. You need a bed."</p><p>"I'm fine here", Jay protested.</p><p>"Trust me, your back will thank you for this later", Will wasn't taking no for an answer.</p><p>Jay reluctantly sat up on the couch, running his hands over his face. Hailey laughed; the lines of her sweater were deeply imprinted into Jay's cheek.</p><p>"The sign of a good sleep", she said rubbing her thumb over his cheek.</p><p>He managed a smile, even moving his facial muscles caused him extreme fatigue.</p><p>They quickly got him upstairs, he did a few laps of the hallway to appease Will and was out of breath by the time he got to Hailey's room.</p><p>He went straight to bed again, Hailey leaving to get them something to eat, her growling stomach reminding her she hadn't eaten much today.</p><p>Her and Will had some dinner before bringing Jay up some soup this time. He had a few bites and then turned it away, saying he didn't have an appetite.</p><p>They left him alone for a while, Hailey returning to the kitchen only to find Will doing some dishes she left in the sink.</p><p>"William Patrick, leave those. You just had surgery!" She scolded him.</p><p>"On my appendix, not my arms Hailey", he laughed.</p><p>"Still. You're supposed to be resting too", she replied.</p><p>"I'll be fine, picking up a few plates won't pop my stitches. You go lay down with Jay. He seems more rested when you're there."</p><p>She couldn't argue there, he did sleep most of the day, something he never did.</p><p>Hailey went upstairs and got the diffuser going in her room, hoping the peppermint would ease some of Jay's congestion. She sat there with the TV on low, making sure Jay's chest was moving every so often.</p><p>His breathing was sounding more laboured as the night went on. He was wheezing too. He wasn't really waking up that much, which Hailey wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Usually he was restless on a good night, maybe his body was just so exhausted that he was out cold. What worried her was how sluggish and cognitively out of it he seemed when he was awake.</p><p>Will had come in to say good night, and made Hailey promise to wake him up if she needed a break.</p><p>"Go sleep Will, we're fine. Not my first sleepless night making sure your brother is still breathing", she reminded him.</p><p>"I hate that that's true, but true…Night", Will left and shut the door.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey woke up in a panic the next morning, somehow, they had both slept through the night. Jay looked paler than she had ever seen him though, his cough was rattling in his chest now.</p><p>He was half sitting up in bed, Hailey supporting his back, with one hand on his shaky arm.</p><p>"Jay", she said gently, rubbing his back, waiting for him to finish coughing so she could hand him some water.</p><p>"This is…horrible Hail", he continued to cough.</p><p>"I know babe", she whispered, feeling helpless in all of this.</p><p>He leaned back against the pillows, whimpering, holding his side. Hailey thought she saw a tear roll down his cheek too.</p><p>"He sounds worse", Hailey jumped as she heard Will's voice in the doorway.</p><p>"I know. He's holding his ribs, the ones he broke, do you think he's coughed so hard that he popped one out?"</p><p>Jay shook his head, his chest rattling as he tried to get out a word.</p><p>"Lacrosse", he whispered faintly.</p><p>"Lacrosse?" Hailey looked at him then looked at Will confused.</p><p>"Mhmm" he confirmed, while holding his side, moaning in pain.</p><p>Hailey had no idea what he was talking about, so she leaned over and checked his forehead, wondering if he had spiked a fever again and was talking nonsense.</p><p>A lightbulb went off for Will. "Ahh, he used to play lacrosse in high school. Out of all the injuries he's ever had, and there's been a lot between the Rangers and CPD…one of the few nagging, and most painful ones is a rib he dislocated in the eleventh grade."</p><p>Hailey loved hearing about Jay's past. She wondered if they would have been friends in high school. "Gotcha."</p><p>"Down by 1, five minutes left in the conference finals. Got hit from behind right at the net by Benny Martin. Real bad", Jay managed to say after he caught his breath.</p><p>"You still remember all the details?" Will shook his head.</p><p>"How could I forget. I couldn't sleep lying down for a week it hurt so bad, I thought one of my lungs collapsed. Found out later on through the Rangers that was NOT what a collapsed lung felt like… equally as terrible. One slightly more life threatening than the other. Still painful to this day though", he held his side trying to take deep breaths and wait for the pain to subside.</p><p>"Lacrosse huh, that's why you have such good hands", Hailey winked seductively.</p><p>"I'll practice for you later", Jay winked back, then suddenly becoming embarrassed. His ears going red, dirty talking in front of his brother.</p><p>Will just stared at them, relishing in the fact that his brother just slipped up in front of him. Jay was the most emotionally guarded person he knew. Hailey was slowly but surely breaking his walls down.</p><p>"ANYWAYS you two", Will laughed awkwardly. "Jay your cold sounds better, but that cough seems worse."</p><p>"Agreed. My body hurts", Jay admitting he was in pain was also a red flag for Will.</p><p>"Just have to let it run its course unfortunately. Good news is that by now if things were going to head really south…they would have."</p><p>"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Jay said sarcastically.</p><p>"Glad to see your attitude is still at peak performance", Will sassed back.</p><p>"Sorry. I'm just annoyed. I don't feel good", Jay apologized.</p><p>"I know you don't. But we're doing the best we can. Adam and Kim should be dropping by with food and other supplies and medicine soon…in about an hour or so", Hailey checked her watch.</p><p>Jay nodded, closing his eyes, he could hold out another hour.</p><p>XX</p><p>A few hours later, Hailey was sitting watching TV with Will while Jay slept upstairs. She felt that familiar feeling that something just wasn't right.</p><p>"Have you heard from Adam and Kim? We're out of Tylenol now, Jay's going to need some more when he wakes up", Will said, sensing that something was off too.</p><p>"Not yet. They might have caught a case or something, lost track of time", she reasoned, although it was super out of character for Kim to be even ten minutes late to anything she committed to.</p><p>It wasn't until 30 minutes later or so that Hailey was getting antsy. She texted Kevin as well, and nothing. It wasn't like any of them to be totally disconnected from their phones. She was about to throw in the towel and call Platt when she heard her phone ping, a message from Kim flashing on her screen.</p><p>She let out a sigh of relief, telling herself that she was being ridiculous for worrying. They were at work after all, something must have come up.</p><p>As she opened the text from Kim, it turns out something did come up, and it wasn't good.</p><p>Adam's been shot, at Med now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Duh, duh, duh. I feel like the Grinch leaving you guys with cliff hangers for the last few chapters! After this, there's two chapters left. Working on getting those out soon now that I'm done school for the holidays! I'm so sorry, I've been bad at keeping up with this fic this semester, letting it drag out. I hope you're all satisfied by the end result! And with the covid content in this chapter, I just want to personally say that I have been fortunate enough to not experience covid myself, and I tried to be as accurate and respectful as possible when writing about it. I am sorry if anyone reading this is offended by the inclusion of such a heavy topic right now, it's never my intent to be disrespectful in any of my writing. For those of you that have been affected by covid or have lost loved ones, I am truly sorry. This has been a really hard year, hoping that there is an end to all of this soon. Wishing all of you a safe, happy &amp; healthy holiday season, however you may celebrate. P.S. – Wear a mask! Sending love from Canada – K</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Same storm, different boat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 33</p><p>Hailey started to hyperventilate. This couldn’t be happening.</p><p>Is he okay?? Was the first thing she typed out and sent.</p><p>Kim replied immediately. Not sure, I hope so. They won’t let us in because of covid. He was conscious the whole time. I found him in a backyard, patrol didn’t roll for us, Kevin thinks it’s because of him. Voight is going to make them pay.</p><p>WTF. How could they do that?? </p><p>I don’t know, things are a mess right now Hailey. He took two, one hit the vest the other went in his side. Lost a lot of blood. I think he’s in bad shape, but not life threatening.</p><p>That made Hailey feel slightly relieved, that Kim wasn’t panicking. </p><p>In as in the bullet didn’t go through his side. Hailey confirmed.</p><p>No, didn’t see an exit wound. They’re prepping him for surgery now that’s all I know.</p><p>Okay, keep me posted. He’s gonna be okay Kim.</p><p>I know he will, he’s too stubborn to die. Sorry we weren’t able to go on a grocery run for you guys.</p><p>Omg Kim don’t even worry about that. We’ll manage. Sending you love.</p><p>Hailey was secretly wondering how they would manage, Jay would be up soon, needing more Tylenol. They could deal with whatever food she had in her house, they wouldn’t starve, but she was more concerned about that than anything else.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Will looked at her nervously, seeing her body language change as soon as she picked up her phone to read her messages.</p><p>“Adam was shot. I don’t know much about his condition other than that. He’s getting prepped for surgery to take a bullet out of his side. Kim said he was in bad shape, but she didn’t think life threatening”, Hailey said seriously.</p><p>Will took a minute to process that, he could easily find out his condition if they needed to, even though it would be a HIPPA violation. </p><p>He let that sit before responding. “Has she been able to see him?” </p><p>Hailey shook her head. “No, covid policy no visitors. They’re all in the dark right now.”</p><p>“I’ll make a call, see if I can get Kim in, or at least an update”, Will stepped away to call Ethan.</p><p>“Thanks, Will”, she said as she got up to go upstairs to check on Jay and fill him in.</p><p>She could hear him coughing loudly already from halfway up the stairs.</p><p>“Jay?” She poked her head into the darkness of the room.</p><p>“Hmm”, he muttered in reply. She sat down on the edge of the bed, resting a hand on his back, noting the lack of heat radiating from his body. A welcome change after the last few days.</p><p>“I just heard from Kim; they aren’t coming today. Adam’s been shot.”</p><p>Jay turned over, letting out a yelp after moving too suddenly with his ribs.</p><p>“He okay?” He asked concerned.</p><p>“We don’t know yet. Kim didn’t seem too panicked, but he was hit twice. Something about patrol not backing them up…things with Kevin…”, she trailed off, fuming herself.</p><p>He raised his eyebrows, “Seriously?!” More coughing.</p><p>“Ya, Will’s trying to get us an update- unofficially of course.”</p><p>He nodded, feeling fatigued from holding his head up even for a few minutes, gently lying back down.</p><p>“How are you doing?” She gave him a once over.</p><p>“Feel like I’ve been hit by a bus”, he admitted. “Do you have more Tylenol?” </p><p>That made her feel extra guilty, Jay rarely admitted he was feeling terrible, and even more rarely asked for medicine if he didn’t absolutely need it.</p><p>Hailey shook her head, “Sorry, we’re out. Kim was supposed to get more”, she said sheepishly. He nodded and told her it was okay.</p><p>“What hurts the most?”</p><p>“My head. Bad headache. And my side”, he said holding his ribs to protect them as he shifted in bed.</p><p>“We’ll get someone to drop something off this afternoon okay”, she said, running her hand against the back of his head.<br/>“Okay”, he said faintly, still holding onto his side.</p><p>Hailey got up to grab him a cool washcloth and an ice pack for his ribs.</p><p>When Hailey came back, she found Jay face down in bed. She knelt down next to the bed, placing the washcloth on the back of his neck and the ice against his side.</p><p>“Mmmm thank you”, he groaned, enjoying the coolness spreading across his aching body.</p><p>“Are you comfortable like this?” Hailey had her doubts, if his ribs were sore, she wasn’t sure how great that felt.</p><p>“It actually hurts less if I lie this way, pressure on my ribs makes it easier to breathe. I don’t know why but is does”, he explained.</p><p>Hailey laughed, “Okay just checking. What else can I do? You need to eat something you’ve been picking for days Jay.”</p><p>“I’m not hungry, but I’ll try”, he agreed to make her happy.</p><p>“How about a smoothie?” She suggested.</p><p>“That would be good”, he replied after giving it some thought. She continued to rub his back before starting to get up to go make something to eat.</p><p>XX</p><p>Hailey found Jay in the exact same place she left him, coaxing him to sit up so he could have some smoothie.</p><p>“I know, I know”, she empathized and helped him as he moaned in pain moving around again.</p><p>“You sure you don’t have anything for pain in your purse or something”, Jay begged.</p><p>Hailey felt so terrible but had to laugh too. “Jay when have you ever seen me carry a purse.”</p><p>He grinned a little, “I don’t know. Never. But you’ve got to have something somewhere around here. Gym bag? Glovebox? I always have stuff for you in my truck when you insist that we go for Mexican for lunch even though it gives you heartburn”, he raised his eyebrows slightly at her.</p><p>Hailey did love that quality about him, always thinking of others before himself.</p><p>She smiled, “I know, and I love you for that. I’ll go see if Will has something okay?” </p><p>“Okay”, he sighed. “Can you rub my back first?” He asked ever so sweetly.</p><p>“Of course, come here”, she motioned for him to lie against her.</p><p>Will appeared in her doorway not too long after, Jay was awake but struggling.</p><p>“How’s it going in here?” Will poked his head in, looking at Hailey for the real answer as Jay shrugged his shoulders in defeat.</p><p>“Fever isn’t too bad, if he even has one at all anymore”, she said with a hand on his forehead.</p><p>“Rib pain is”, Jay grunted and continued to hold his side protectively.</p><p>Will came over to check on Jay himself, taking his temperature, pleased to see he wasn’t running a fever anymore.</p><p>“That’s good Jay, your body is fighting it. Your ribs are sore because of the coughing. I have some anti-inflammatory meds, best I can do”, he said sympathetically.</p><p>“Okay thanks”, Jay replied, gratefully taking the medicine.</p><p>“And I texted Stella, her and Kelly are going to drop off some stuff for us”, Hailey said looking at her phone.</p><p>“That’s great”, Will said. “Think you can get up and walk around a bit Jay?”</p><p>It was important that Jay moved, it wasn’t good to be lying down in bed for so long.</p><p>He nodded slowly, thankful that whatever Will gave him was kicking in.</p><p>They walked around the house for a few minutes, Jay even went outside on Hailey’s back deck for a little bit and got some sun.</p><p>“Fresh air will do you good”, Will said as he sat down next to his brother.</p><p>“Sorry I rained on your chicken noodle soup parade”, Jay gave his brother a cheeky grin.</p><p>“Ahh it’s alright, I’m a lousy patient anyways”, Will replied with a wink.</p><p>Hailey joined them on the deck, each of them soaking up the late summer sun. </p><p>XX</p><p>Stella and Kelly came by a while later, bringing groceries, some alcohol and board games to keep them occupied. Hailey and Will waved at them from a distance, wishing they could run up and hug each other.</p><p>“It’s going to be okay you guys, rounds on us at Molly’s as soon as we can”, Stella mentioned.</p><p>“Thanks again, you guys are the best. Stay safe out there”, Hailey replied, Will echoing her sentiments.</p><p>“Anything for our favourite couple…I mean detectives. And doctor too!” Kelly laughed and winked at Hailey, who rolled her eyes but didn’t deny anything. Will nudged her shoulder laughing along with the firefighters.</p><p>They waved them off, bringing their goodies inside.</p><p>Hailey almost welled up at all the extras Stella and Kelly put in there for them. On top of groceries and necessary supplies Hailey sent in her list, there was cards from people at 51, and the 21st, Bananagrams, a bouquet of flowers, takeout gift cards, extra snacks and beer. They were so lucky to have great people in their life.</p><p>Hailey heard back from Kim a few hours later, letting them know that Adam was in recovery and doing just fine. No long-term damage, he was going to be off for a few weeks and sore as his incision and bruised ribs healed. A collective sigh of relief.</p><p>She snuck a FaceTime call in from his recovery room, Choi had pulled some strings and got Kim in. She was head to toe in PPE, but that didn’t bother her. All that mattered was that Adam was okay and she was sitting at his bedside, holding his hand. The team was grateful for that, so that Adam wasn’t alone. He was a bit groggy but managed to give a thumbs up to the camera. Even Platt had figured out how to join their group call and smiled from ear to ear as she scanned the screen. Staring at Adam and Kim together, and Hailey and Jay snuggled up on the couch. Normalcy, it was something that they were all craving these days.</p><p>Things were going to be alright.</p><p>XX</p><p>Another week had passed in quarantine before they knew it. By the following weekend, Will’s stitches were out, Hailey had to assist him on that. Jay rolled his eyes, not appreciating how low on his stomach Hailey had to get to help him. </p><p>“Grow up Halstead”, she rolled her eyes, laughing at how ridiculous he was.</p><p>“What…so a guy can’t be mad at his girlfriend practically seeing his own brother naked?!”<br/>“Jay, she did not see me naked”, Will laughed too. </p><p>“From where I was standing, she might as well have”, he eyed the two of them, who couldn’t stop laughing at him.</p><p>“Trust me, if that is the worst thing that’s happened to us this week, I think we’re doing okay”, Will reminded him.</p><p>Jay paused and reflected on that. “I suppose.”</p><p>“You’re the only Halstead I want to see naked Jay”, Hailey raised her eyebrows seductively, her eyes travelling down the front of his grey sweatpants. </p><p>“Aaaand that’s my cue to leave”, Will blushed a little, laughing as he left their room as Hailey and Jay shut the door for some private time.</p><p>The three of them finally left the house later that day, they were all going a bit stir crazy. Jay especially. He was finally well enough to be moving around more and was convinced he was over the worst of it.</p><p>“We are only allowed to drive to the testing facility, and nowhere else”, Hailey reminded him.</p><p>“I know, it’s just going to feel good to leave the house”, Jay replied.</p><p>“Agreed. Let’s go”, Hailey rounded the two brothers up and hopped in her Jeep, getting an instant serotonin boost from feeling the sun on her face and fresh air in her lungs.</p><p>Each of them waited patiently to get swabbed at the drive-thru centre, gagging and tearing up as it happened. Even Will, who had done these many times, couldn’t stop his eyes from watering.</p><p>“Never get used to that”, he said afterwards, the other two in agreement.</p><p>“That wasn’t so bad though”, Hailey said, Jay nodding along.</p><p>“Now we wait.”</p><p>XX</p><p>A few days later their test results came back, each of them nervous to open their emails.</p><p>“Negative!!” Jay shouted, as did Hailey and Will. Jumping around her living room in excitement.</p><p>“That means as of tomorrow, our quarantine is officially over”, Will said with a smile on his face.</p><p>“Not that I didn’t love spending 14 days straight with both of you”, he added quickly.</p><p>“Not offended in the slightest”, Hailey chuckled. Once Jay was over the worst of his symptoms, they had spent hours playing games, watching movies, doing a deep clean, organizing and re-organizing her entire house. It was nice in some ways to have down time, but there is such thing as too much together time and they were at that point.</p><p>“Back to normal life?” Jay asked Will.</p><p>“Something like that”, Will agreed, but knowing deep down that the normal life they were referring to was gone. There was a new normal now, he wasn’t sure things would entirely go back to how they were, not for a while anyways. But that wasn’t necessarily a terrible thing. This pandemic had given everyone a chance to reflect on what was important to them, what values they held near and dear, and exposed some of the troublesome issues in their city, that had been there long before the pandemic, and would hopefully get the attention it deserved moving forward. It was both heart-wrenching and refreshing. He was thankful for this new perspective on life, and ready to head back into the front lines.</p><p>They spent their last night together, laughing and joking around. Morning came and they went their separate ways. Well, Will did anyways. He hugged his brother and Hailey good-bye, soaking it in. He didn’t know when he’d be able to do it again. He watched as they drove away after dropping him off at his apartment, jogging up the stairs, eager to see his four-legged friend.</p><p>Hailey and Jay on the other hand, drove straight to the station. They were welcomed at the front by Platt, resisting the temptation to hug everyone. They still had to follow protocols. Platt looked down at the way Jay’s fingers were intertwined with Hailey’s and smiled. The mask hid it, but her eyes didn’t. Jay winked as he walked upstairs with Hailey, ready to get back to work, just like his brother.</p><p>“Well, well, well”, Ruzek said from his desk, looking much better than he had last week.</p><p>“I was gone for a few weeks and you just had to go and get shot huh”, Jay joked.</p><p>“Someone had to fill in for your usual shenanigans on your sabbatical”, Ruzek joked, Kim rolling her eyes.</p><p>“I get it now Hailey. Truly”, Kim stared, having this new worry and protectiveness over Adam.</p><p>Even Voight laughed at that one. “Good to have you guys back”, he said to Hailey and Jay, and to Ruzek.<br/>“Now would probably be a good time to fill out that HR paperwork Sarge”, Jay voiced. </p><p>“It’s been sitting on my desk for months, was just waiting for you guys to come clean”, he quipped back.</p><p>Hailey was glad she was wearing a mask, because her mouth dropped a bit at that.</p><p>“Months eh Sarge”, she tested her luck.</p><p>“In the grand scheme of 2020, this isn’t as crazy or as secret as you think it is Upton”, he winked, referring to her more than partnership, partnership.</p><p>They all shrugged and agreed at that. “So, thinking distanced patio drinks to celebrate tonight. Thoughts?” Hailey asked the group.</p><p>“Sounds good to me, but where should we go?” Kevin asked sarcastically, as if they went anywhere else other than Molly’s. </p><p>“What are we even celebrating”, Kim joked.</p><p>“Life!” Hailey and Jay shouted at the same time, staring at one another from across their desks. </p><p>Life had been crazy this year, and it was far from over. What they did know was that they had every reason to celebrate their successes, their failures, their resolve and the future. 2020 had been the most challenging year to date, there was no denying that. There were many times that they wanted to give up, physically and mentally. However, this year also taught them many lessons; in kindness, selflessness, compassion, leadership. A chance to grow individually and as a group, to stand up for those facing hardships and challenges different than their own. To being on the right side of history. For they were all in the same storm, but just in different boats. </p><p>XX</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ahhh, one more chapter to go! It will feature a bit of a time jump… Thank you all for sticking with me this long. Just like 2020, this story has been a wild ride and rollercoaster! I appreciate all the nice reviews and messages. Be kind to yourself and your neighbour. Thank all of the essential workers in your life! – K</p>
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<a name="section0034"><h2>34. You have been my home for a long time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Because I’m sentimental and wanted to end this at Chapter 34 just like I did with “Hailey &amp; Jay”. Enjoy, this is set a year after the last chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 34</p><p>“Hail are you here?” Will shouted as he walked in her house, with a six-pack of beer in hand, grateful as he felt the blast of cold air conditioning as he stepped out of the late summer heat.</p><p>“Ya, be down in a second!” She shouted from upstairs, pulling on clothes after getting out of the shower. Jay had popped out to get some food and other supplies for the BBQ they were hosting this afternoon.</p><p>“Hey Will”, Hailey said as she came down the stairs. The older Halstead was making himself at home, just relaxing on her couch watching the summer Olympics.</p><p>“Hey, am I the first one here?” He asked in disbelief with a chuckle. Will Halstead was many things, but punctual was not always one of them.</p><p>“You are actually”, Hailey laughed. </p><p>Will paused for a second when he took a glance at her. “You look nice”, he said genuinely, yet suspiciously. Hailey’s hair was nicely curled, and she was wearing makeup too.</p><p>“What can’t a girl look nice at her own party??” She brushed him off casually. She avoided eye contact, not wanting to give anything away. Will knew her just about as well as Jay did at this point.</p><p>She walked past him, not wanting to make a big deal out of his comment, she wanted to wait until Jay got home to tell him. It was perfect that Will was here super early. </p><p>“Want a beer Will?” She shouted from the kitchen.</p><p>“Yes please!” He replied just as Jay was walking through the door.</p><p>“Make that two Hails”, Jay added, knowing they would want to toast to this.</p><p>“Hey”, Hailey greeted Jay with a kiss, and took the few grocery bags from his hands, trading him for a beer.</p><p>“Keeper this one”, Jay joked to Will who was sprawled out on their couch.<br/>Hailey joined them in the living room a few minutes later, feeling oddly nervous.</p><p>Jay, picking up on her nerves, took the lead and turned towards Will.</p><p>“So…”, he started.</p><p>Will looked at him suspiciously too.</p><p>“Alright what is going on with you two. I’m no detective but you guys have been acting strange today, all week really”, Will quizzed them.</p><p>Hailey turned to smile at Jay, a mischievous grin on her face.</p><p>“Wait….”, Will looked between both of them. “Are you pregnant?!”</p><p>Hailey laughed, “No I’m not pregnant Will. But we do have some news…”</p><p>“Okay…”, he said, still not understanding. </p><p>“Remember when I took Hailey up to the cabin last month?” Jay asked.</p><p>“Mhmm”, Will nodded, following so far.</p><p>“Well…”, Hailey reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring, sliding it on the ring finger of her left hand.</p><p>Will’s face exploded with a smile, “Are you serious”, he asked, looking at both of them for confirmation. </p><p>They both looked at each other smiling, then back at Will and nodded.</p><p>He immediately jumped off the couch, all three of them standing up to hug one another. </p><p>First wrapping his arms around his brother, something they would never take for granted again after the events of 2020. Next, moving to Hailey, getting a good look at her ring, followed by a big hug and kiss on the cheek.</p><p>“I’m finally going to have a sister!” Will said excitedly as Hailey got a little teary.</p><p>Jay smiled, and Will suddenly looked at him. </p><p>“I still have mom’s ring…”, he said, wondering why Jay didn’t ask for it.</p><p>“That’s yours man”, Jay replied with a small smile, putting a hand on Will’s shoulder, knowing that ring meant more to his brother than it did to him.</p><p>They patted each other on the back as they shared a moment, Hailey interjecting a minute later.</p><p>“We know this is a surprise Will, but there’s something else”, she added with a little sparkle in her eye.</p><p>“What else could you possibly have up your sleeve?” He asked cheekily.</p><p>“A wedding?” Jay answered. </p><p>“Well ya no kidding you guys are engaged now…”, Will replied, not getting it.</p><p>“Today”, Hailey filled in the blanks. Will’s mouth dropped open for the second time. </p><p>“Today”, he confirmed back. “You guys… you’re kidding?” He said incredulously.</p><p>“Kinda hoping you’re okay with it since I do need a best man”, Jay said slyly. </p><p>Now it was Will’s turn to get choked up. “Of course, Jay. Of course.”</p><p>“Okay you two, we need to get ready before everyone gets here!” Hailey said after allowing them to have a nice brotherly moment.</p><p>“How? I don’t have anything here. You guys should have told me I could have helped…”, Will said instantly moving into list mode.</p><p>“Don’t worry Will, we have everything under control. We’re keeping it simple, no one else is going to be dressed up, it is a surprise wedding after all”, Hailey joked.</p><p>“True”, Will agreed.</p><p>“I have clothes here you can borrow if you want to change”, Jay suggested. The two of them moving upstairs to decide on outfits.</p><p>“Who’s your maid of honour Hailey?” Will asked. Hailey looked a little sad at that, knowing the person she would have asked wasn’t going to be here.</p><p>“Me”, they heard a small voice suddenly poke her head around the corner, Hailey’s mouth going wide, then instantly welling up at the sight of Vanessa Rojas in her kitchen.</p><p>Hailey ran over to give Vanessa a huge hug, then turned back to Jay, looking confused as to how she got here. </p><p>“I may have picked up more than hamburgers and buns at the store”, Jay said sheepishly, then giving Rojas a fist bump at the fact that they pulled this off.</p><p>Hailey couldn’t stop crying she was so happy to see her former roommate. </p><p>“I was supposed to be doing the surprising today”, Hailey laughed through the happy tears.</p><p>“Ya for being a detective, it was shockingly easy for me to get in through your back door and for you to not hear me”, Rojas jokingly lectured Hailey.</p><p>“I’m so glad you’re here, I thought we wouldn’t see you again”, Hailey replied.</p><p>“As if I would ever miss this wedding! Are you joking? I made this happen!” Rojas joked motioning between Hailey and Jay. The two roommates shared a look, reminiscing on the time Jay got shot and Rojas point blank told Hailey that she was in love with her partner. That really kick started everything Hailey realized, looking back on the last year or so. She really did have Vanessa to thank for getting that ball rolling.</p><p>“But how did you get here? When did you get back…? Do you have to go back?” She had so many questions for Rojas, but Jay cut her off.</p><p>“All that matters is that she’s here right now. We can catch up later, we have to get things in order before people show up”, he reminded everyone. </p><p>“Yes dad”, Rojas jokingly saluted Jay who rolled his eyes and laughed.</p><p>Rojas and Hailey went upstairs to get ready; Jay and Will went out back to finalize a few things. Hailey gave Jay one last kiss before going upstairs to get into her dress, a simple white summer dress she picked up this week, by no means a fancy wedding gown.</p><p>It wasn’t long before their backyard was filled with all of the people that they loved. All of Intelligence, Mouch and Platt, Stella and Kelly, and a few others from firehouse 51. </p><p>At first, no one thought much of anything. There were drinks and snacks set out, some decorations and chairs. Since the pandemic was over, they had made a point of going over the top with all gatherings and celebrations, really appreciating the time together, social connections and not taking those things for granted ever again. The 2020 versions of themselves dreamed of this day, being able to spend time with your loved ones, hug, touch, laugh. They had gone to concerts again together, crowded bars and restaurants, movie theatres. There was a buzz in the air, reminding them that there were still good things in life; mostly just being around each other. The lessons they had learned in 2020 were not forgotten, and neither was the pain, suffering and loss each of them had experienced in different ways. But they were stronger now, as individuals and as a group. </p><p>So that’s why when Hailey walked out in a white dress, and Jay was dressed in a shirt and tie on a hot summer day, they all looked around at each other and just knew.</p><p>“Hey everyone”, Jay called attention to himself in the group. <br/>“We wanted to have you guys here this afternoon to get together and have some fun, share some good food and laughs, but also to do something else”, he said as he winked at his bride-to-be.</p><p>“Hailey and I got engaged last month and thought it would be fun to pull off a surprise wedding”, he said as there were gasps from the crowd. A few tears from Trudy even.</p><p>“Everyone here is super important to us, and we wanted to make this an intimate day”, Hailey added. “I was even surprised myself a few hours ago”, she alluded to her back door as Vanessa Rojas stepped out. Everyone but Voight went absolutely bonkers, the small smile he gave Hailey told her that he had something to do with Jay’s early wedding present. </p><p>“Okay, okay”, Will took charge. “Let’s get this show on the road so that we can get to that shortly after”, Will motioned to the stocked bar in the corner of their deck.</p><p>Kelly, Adam and Kevin got the chairs set up in the backyard in no time. Everyone else was rushing around making sure everything was perfect. Mouch was an officiant and agreed to marry them, Jay had already known this and snooped around ahead of time.</p><p>“That’s why we were invited huh Chuckles”, Trudy joked as she helped Jay fix his tie.</p><p>“Ya something like that”, he laughed. </p><p>“I’m really happy for you two Jay”, Trudy said seriously, it not being lost on her that neither of their parents were here, for various reasons. </p><p>“Thanks Trudy”, Jay said bashfully, his nose scrunching up, trying not to get emotional.</p><p>“Let’s do this, it’s about time”, she said as she ushered Jay to the front to stand by Will.</p><p>Back in the house, Hailey was fidgeting with her dress, Kim and Vanessa helping her get ready, Stella was fixing her hair. </p><p>The three girls left to go find their seats as Voight walked through the kitchen to get back outside.</p><p>“Sarge?” Hailey asked, stopping him before he went to go sit down.</p><p>“Ya”, he turned around and replied in his usual gruff voice.</p><p>“Umm… I don’t…”, Hailey looked down at her feet. “I don’t have anyone to walk me down the aisle…was wondering if you…”</p><p>Before Hailey could finish Voight had pulled her in for a hug, the one and only time she thought she saw true emotion on his face.<br/>“It would be my honour”, he replied, holding out his arm as Hailey took a big gulp as the music started playing.</p><p>XX</p><p>Jay cried as she walked down the aisle towards him, everyone gushing as Hailey gently brushed a tear from his cheek. </p><p>The ceremony and their vows were short and sweet, but so meaningful. The two of them couldn’t take their eyes off of one another, it was as if they were the only two in the backyard that day. </p><p>Their rings were slid on each other’s hands, only the two of them knowing what was engraved on the inside. I’m going where you go. </p><p>The words “You may kiss your bride”, were barely out of Mouch’s mouth as Jay dipped Hailey and their backyard erupted in applause. </p><p>“I now pronounce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Jay Halstead!” </p><p>They shared another kiss before walking back down their makeshift aisle, their friends on their feet clapping and cheering. They looked so happy, so natural together. As if they were always meant to be.</p><p>The whole surprise wedding was so very them. Private yet intimate, casual but an incredibly fun time. It wasn’t often that Hailey and Jay let others into their world, but when they did it was magical. They partied the rest of the day, and well into the night. </p><p>It wasn’t until well past midnight that everyone started to trickle out, leaving Jay and Hailey alone together finally.</p><p>“Hailey Halstead”, Jay said out loud, smiling at his bride. </p><p>“It has a nice ring to it after all doesn’t it”, she joked.</p><p>He grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together. “Yes, it does.”</p><p>For a long time, Jay had been searching for a home. He had never felt secure in one place, or with any particular group of people, friends and family. That was until Hailey came along. There was something about her from day one that made him feel at ease. She was fierce yet gentle, funny and protective of those she loved, caring and intelligent. He was so incredibly lucky to have her. What Jay wanted more than anything in life was to find someone to understand him. Being understood is being appreciated, and he felt that so strongly with Hailey. Hailey felt the same way about Jay too. He had this calming, strong nature about him that she so deeply craved when she was younger. She could never imagine doing life without him, he was her missing piece. And as she looked into her husband’s eyes across from her on the couch, she knew that he was thinking the same.</p><p>“I’m so excited to make a home with you Jay Halstead”, she whispered as she nuzzled into his shoulder.</p><p>Jay exhaled deeply, wrapping his arms around her, gently caressing her hair, and whispered into her ear…</p><p>“Hailey Halstead, you have been my home for a long time.”</p><p>XX</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ahhhh and there we have it folks! Proud of this one, but sad to see it go and wrap this story up, but it was time. Thanks for following along and for all the support. Writing has been such a good outlet for me and helped with the stress of this year. As I reflect back on this story, I’m in disbelief that the earlier chapters were written in 2019 and continued throughout the start and thick of the pandemic. I’ve been reflecting on how much things have changed and evolved since then in real life, just like this story. I have hope that things will continue to evolve and change for the better in the new year. I have a few one shots ready to go that I will be posting in the very near future, and am working on a new story that I think will be really special. I can’t wait to share it with all of you! I hope you all continue to be safe wherever you are in the world. Health and happiness for 2021! Cheers. – K</p>
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